by Thembo Muhindo Kashauri

Established on 1 November 2012, the Affinity Group on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a network of leading scholars and researchers working on the DRC who are deeply familiar with the context of the current challenges facing the country after two decades of war, and who can provide long-term analysis and recommendations to help inform international engagement in the region. This “brain trust” on the DRC provides analysis of the crises facing the DRC and situates these challenges in a long-term view of the political, social, and security trends in the country and the region. Where necessary, the Affinity Group identifies gaps in existing evidence and knowledge and undertakes the necessary research to fill the knowledge gaps identified by its analysis.

As with the landmark Ford Foundation Study Group on South Africa in the 1980s, and the short-lived UN Secretary-General's Resource Group on the DRC established in 1998 at the start of the Second Congo War, the Affinity Group on the DRC seeks to keep its analysis and research firmly distinct from advocacy efforts, yet remains flexible to respond to and help inform policy processes.

DRC Affinity Group members:

Download DR Congo Affinitiy Group Member Biographies [.pdf]

Tatiana Carayannis (Project Director)
Social Science Research Council
Federico Borello
Humanity United
Mvemba Dizolele
Johns Hopskins University
Jean-Marie Guéhenno
Columbia University
Fabienne Hara
International Crisis Group
Pascal Kambale
Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)
Michel Noureddine Kassa
Initiative for a Cohesive Leadership in the DRC
Jason Stearns
Rift Valley Institute
Anneke Van Woudenberg
Human Rights Watch
Koen Vlassenroot
University of Ghent
Herbert Weiss
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

 

Project Director
Tatiana Carayannis
Contact
Program Staff

Network

Supported by Funding from