Rebel movements in the DRC as sub-national terrorists and the need for appropriate counter initiatives
Abstract
The word “terrorism” has been used in various political and policy contexts, and studied
in several scholarly disciplines. Most contemporary writing on terrorism focuses on the
international dimensions or manifestations of terrorism. However, in Africa, subnational
terror (and even state terror) has been a feature of conflict on the African
continent. This ranges from amorphous internationally connected groups in which
people locally band together around a religious paradigm, to rebels who terrify civilians in
civil wars, e.g. the armed movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Specifically, the north-eastern and eastern parts of the DRC have been major conflict
zones where sub-national or domestic terrorists employed and continue to employ terror
as a strategy. This paper examines rebel movements in the DRC as a phenomenon of
sub-national terrorism – a phenomenon that manifests in life-and-death struggles over
access to mineral resources and where there is a clear correlation between conflict and the accumulation of resources.