Uganda traditional justice mechanisms must triumph over western interventionism

We should not deny Ugandans the chance to bring a man who has committed horrific crimes to justice. However we must be careful that our moral greed does not inadvertently force Ugandan reconciliation backwards.

The LRA: what's to be done?

Supporters of the Kony 2012 campaign have posed two questions to critics: 'what would you do?', and 'what's the problem with getting the issue more attention?'. But African and international efforts have already solved most of the problems associated with the LRA, let's keep up those efforts.

After the storm, we need to keep talking about Kony

In the backlash against Kony 2012 a real discussion of what the international community can and should do has been lost. Despite the bias against intervention there is still a responsibility to protect.

Kony2012: the dilemma of mobilising for aid

Focused on the challenges of declining funds and public skepticism at home, development organisations tend to pay more attention to ´what works´ to convince donors and journalists, rather than finding out first what resonates with the people they mean to help. What kind of success is a film which its intended ´beneficiaries´ would rather do without? asks Ute Seela

Don't elevate Kony

What is Kony2012? The apologists for Invisible Children call it “raising awareness.” Alex de Waal calls it peddling dangerous and patronizing falsehoods.

What will it take to end the conflict with the LRA?

Ending the violence and insecurity perpetrated by the Lord's Resistance Army is more about empowering civil society and developing local solutions across many countries than about keeping US military advisers in Northern Uganda. The youthful, Western attention brought to the issue by Invisible Children and #Kony2012 is not in itself a solution

What is Kony2012?

Invisible Children's controversial campaign highlights the pressing question of international engagement in conflict, which openSecurity seeks to address through our debate 'Peacebuilding from a Southern Perspective'.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Heather McRobie is a regular contributor to 50.50

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