Why bother to work on governance

A new blog by Marjoke Oostrom

Tags: Africa , Uganda , Civil Society Building
Additional tags: Civic participation post conflict

Marjoke Oosterom (Institute of Development Studies, UK) carries out her PhD research on civic participation in local government structures in Northern Uganda. In 2010, she will do her field research in the districts Kitgum and Apac. In this blog she tells about her experiences based on interviews carried out in the capital and in Gulu and Kitgum districts.

he Acholi sub-region and bordering districts experienced extremely violent activities and abductions by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for 20 years. A vast majority of the population was displaced and lived in camps. Since two years ago, Northern Uganda is stable and people are gradually returning home. Local governments are slowly resuming their functions. Both the people and the local government officials face tremendous challenges in the recovery process. Marjoke will follow the process in two districts. Whereas Kitgum was heavily affected by violent conflict and displacement, Apac experienced insecurity for only a short period of time. In this PhD study Marjoke will see how these regional differences have consequences for civic engagement in local governance. You can read her blog here