The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffered from civil war from 1998 to 2003. This war mostly centred on the control of natural resources, and cost millions of lives. Whilst this war officially ended in 2003, violence remains part of the political environment in the country, mostly in the Eastern DRC where various rebel groups and the Congolese national army still engage in armed confrontations
Read MoreConstructing identities and building borders: travelling across the Balkans
This summer I took a road trip with some friends to a sometimes forgotten region of Europe: the Balkans, or West Balkans, to be more precise. The facts that I don’t know exactly what to call it, and that people often responded with uncertainty when I told them where I was going, are indicative of the confusion and misconceptions associated with this particular area of Europe.
Read MoreThe Gift of Life: A Soldier’s Death as Sacrifice
In his 2011 speech (9) to declare the end of the Iraq War, the current President of the United States, Obama, used a common, but not trivial, phrasing: he conceptualised a soldier’s death in war as a gift to the nation.
Read More