The Lord’s Resistance Army: Myth and Reality Book

Table and figures vii

Maps viii

Introduction Tim Allen Koen Vlassenroot 1

Part 1 Interpretations of Uganda's war in the north

1 Exploring the roots of LRA violence: political crisis and ethnic politics in Acholiland Adam Branch 25

2 Uganda's politics of foreign aid and violent conflict: the political uses of the LRA rebellion Andrew Mwenda 45

3 The spiritual order of the LRA Kristof Titeca 59

4 An African hell of colonial imagination? The Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, another story Sverker Finnström 74

Part 2 Experiencing the LRA

5 Chasing the Kony story Mareike Schomerus 93

6 'A terrorist is not a person like me': an interview with Joseph Kony Mareike Schomerus 113

7 On the nature and causes of LRA abduction: what the abductees say Christopher Blattman Jeannie Annan 132

8 Between two worlds: former LRA soldiers in northern Uganda Ben Mergelsberg 156

9 Encountering Kony: a Madi perspective Ronald Iya 177

Part 3 Peace and justice

10 Northern Uganda: a 'forgotten conflict', again? The impact of the internationalization of the resolution process Sandrine Perrot 187

11 'The realists in Juba'? An analysis of the Juba peace talks Ronald R. Atkinson 205

12 NGO involvement in the Juba peace talks: the role and dilemmas of IKV Pax Christi Simon Simonse Willemijn Verkoren Gerd Junne 223

13 Bitter roots: the 'invention' of Acholi traditional justice Tim Allen 242

14 The ICC investigation of the Lord's Resistance Army: an insider's view Matthew Brubacher 262

Postscript: a kind of peace and an exported war Tim Allen Frederick Laker Holly Porter Mareike Schomerus 279

Notes 289

Bibliography 325

Notes on the contributors 342

Index 347