Being reformed: Subjectification and security sector reform in the Congolese armed forces

ABSTRACT

In contrast to most studies addressing security sector reform (SSR) in Africa, this article queries defence reform efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from a governmentality perspective and hones in on processes of subjectification and modes of agency among members of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC). Based on extensive field research in the DRC, it explores how army staff produce themselves through (and outside of) the ways in which they are ‘hailed’ into subject positions in donors’ efforts to govern. In asking how FARDC staff respond, position, and produce themselves in relation to external reform efforts and the attending governing technologies and techniques, the article contributes to the increasing – yet limited – scholarly attention to those being ‘reformed’ through SSR efforts. Ultimately, attending to the specificities of how processes of subjectification are experienced from the perspective of those who are to be reformed problematizes the simplified notions of lack of political will and commitment, obstruction and ‘spoilers’ that are so prevalent in the SSR literature, suggesting that these processes are heavily shaped by memories of colonialism and exploitation.

KEYWORDS:

• security sector reform
• interventions
• governmentality
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• DRC
• postcolonial perspectives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Maria Eriksson Baaz is professor in Peace and Development Studies at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her research interests are in postcolonial theory, gender and militarization and civil military relations. She is the author of several books such as Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond and The Paternalism of Partnership: A Postcolonial Reading of Identity in Development Aid.

Maria Stern is professor in Peace and Development Studies at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her research interests are feminist theory and security studies, security-development and the politics of identity. She has written several books such as Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond, Feminist Methodologies for International Relations, and Naming Security – Constructing Identity.

ORCID

Maria Stern http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6181-1251

Notes

1 As noted in other research, assessments tend to be grounded in rather vaguely defined expectations, often measured against an overall judgment of FARDC performance, with little connection to actual interventions. Furthermore, quite limited resources have been allotted to defence reform and while most bilateral interventions take the form of training, only approximately 6% of FARDC troops have received specialized training by or under the supervision of foreign military personnel (Van Damme and Verweijen 2012).

2 See, for example, Dean (1999, 2013), Foucault (1991), Rose (1996), Walters (2012). See also Hansson, Hellberg, and Stern (2015).

3 While the ways in which the colonial still shape identities and practices has been addressed in a range of scholarship on development and humanitarian interventions, it is more rarely addressed or acknowledged in relation to security governance (Barkawi and Laffey 2006, 2013), and particularly SSR.

4 The colonial encounter, as understood by a range of postcolonial theorists (cf. Bhabha 1994; Mubimbe 1997; Hall 1996b), was marked by the problem of translation or ‘misreading’ in which something in the original meaning is always lost and something new is created. Colonialism was then actualized as ‘the production of hybridisation’ rather than as sheer domination (Bhabha 1994: 33).

5 A total of 21 interviews were conducted (with 1 to 3 interviewees present) with representatives of international actors.

6 The US for instance relies on the Leahy law, which requires that individuals from foreign forces are vetted for human rights abuses before they can receive training; see “Security Assistance Monitor: Security Sector Reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” https://securityassistancemonitor.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/security-sector-reform-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo/.

7 Informal (non-audio recorded) interviews with EUSEC staff and Monusco staff in Goma and Kinshasa during several occasions between 2010–2013.

8 Informal (non-audio recorded) interviews with US Africa Command (AFRICOM) staff in Kinshasa during several occasions between 2010 and 2013.

9 Interview with Colonel at the Ministry of Defence in Kinshasa August 4, 2011, conducted by Eriksson Baaz.

10 Interview with high-level colonel in Goma January 11, 2011, conducted by Eriksson Baaz and Stern.

11 Interview with Colonel in Goma January 11, 2011, conducted by Eriksson Baaz and Stern.

12 Interview with Army Chaplain in Goma January 13, 2011, conducted by Eriksson Baaz and Stern.

13 Interview with Captain in Kinshasa January 21, 2012, conducted by Eriksson Baaz.

14 Interview with Major in Kinshasa January 17, 2012, conducted by Eriksson Baaz.

15 Interview with Sargent in Kinshasa August 5, 2011, conducted by Eriksson Baaz.

16 Group interviews with soldiers in Rutshuru 21, November 2011, conducted by Eriksson Baaz and Stern.

17 Interview with CMO Major in Kinshasa January 22, 2012, conducted by Eriksson Baaz.

18 See critical discussions about the ‘local turn’ in peacebuilding in, for example, Hughes, Öjendal, and Schierenbeck (2015), Hirblinger and Simons (2015), Mac Ginty (2014), Sabaratnam (2013), and Pogodda et al. (2014).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency [grant number 2011-2014]. Stemming Violence against Civilians?: Effective External Security Sector Reform in Conflict/Post-Conflict Settings—the case of the DRC.