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ABSTRACT
This article examines the relationship between local civil society organizations and community-based structures in peacebuilding interventions in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It observes that elite led organizations in the provincial capital rely on information provided by the members of multiple community-based structures in order identify local needs which are addressed through their peacebuilding efforts. Further, it argues that the relationship between these two actors present both groups with the legitimacy to undertake peacebuilding activities at the community and provincial level. It argues that local civil society organizations rely on their relationship with community-based structures which they establish and support in order to develop locally grounded peacebuilding interventions and gain the legitimacy necessary to gain access to international funding and implement their programmes in targeted communities in South Kivu province.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. These organizations were selected based on their thematic focuses on the local causes of conflict outlined by Autesserre (Citation2010) which included land and identity conflict.
2. During additional fieldwork conducted in September 2017, a CCI leader in Kalehe from the third organization explained that he had been personally invited by the organization to lead the CCI in his community and that they had worked together for a year before the CCI officially opened. This individual was among the most educated members of the community having competed university to become a veterinarian. It is interesting to note that he was not a member of ECC, the church that this organization was affiliated with.