Reddit reviews Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe

I appreciate the heads-up, and I also do want to rant for a moment, because I feel like SRS might be a sympathetic ear for this: Joseph Kony is a monster. He should be stopped. Indisputably. No doubt.

That said, the existence of the Lord's Resistance Army is deeply entangled with the economic, military and political situation in at least four nations: Uganda, the DRC, Sudan and South Sudan. This is the messiest, most violent and most complex region in the entire world. Anyone with even a passing interest in the region knows that Joseph Kony exists, and that he should be stopped. The problem is not that "Joseph Kony isn't famous." The problem is decades of poverty, violence, corruption, botched military intervention, economic exploitation, and ongoing consequences from both colonialism and the Cold War. The problem is so much deeper than just one man, but even working to remove just that one man involves taking action (for example, sending military support to the government of Uganda) which may have dangerous and unpredictable consequences. We do not have a good record of intervention in this region, although are record of non-intervention (in Rwanda, Uganda's neighbor) may be even more shameful.

That's not to say that we should do nothing, but it is to say that it makes me really, really angry when the guy in the video says, in a shocked voice, "This has been happening for months? Man, if this happened for just one night in America, it would be on the cover of Newsweek!" No. Fucking. Shit. That's what it means to live in America. That you can live in such a complete bubble that not only are you physically safe, but that you can believe so completely in your own power and safety and importance that you believe that all it takes to fix the rest of the world is for you, yourself, to care about something. Not to think, or to learn, or to act, or to sacrifice...just to care. As though there weren't an entire global system of inequity propping these bastards up at every level, and implicating us all.

A big part of this video involves the filmmaker trying to explain to his four year old son what's going on with the LRA. I get what he's doing, but that makes me mad, too. I'm not of the opinion that complex sociopolitical problems get solved by reducing them to a level that a preschooler can understand. We owe the children in the video more than that: not only to care but to know.

Africa's World War

The Lord's Resistance Army: Myth and Reality

Sudan, South Sudan and Darfur: What Everyone Needs to Know

Empire

You're right about people ignoring Africa. The deadliest conflict of the 21st century, and I bet not many people could even name the belligerents in the Second Congo War, which still isn't entirely resolved. And I hate to be a pessimist, but border disputes are likely to get even more heated if China really does manage to set off another "Scramble for Africa."

Gérard Prunier's book Africa's World War is a fair look at the war and its origins.

https://www.amazon.com/Africas-World-War-Continental-Catastrophe/dp/0199754209
I'm reading this book right now and it's all about the background behind the current crisis in the Congo. Hope this helps!

> It's a poisonous mentality with zero long-term planning, equivalent to Rwandan tribalism

The RPF ruthless plan to get and hold power (and then pillage the Congo) was long-term, and it worked out and still works perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/Praise-Blood-Crimes-Rwandan-Patriotic/dp/0345812093

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Lakes-Holocaust-1996-1997-Africa/dp/1909384658

https://www.amazon.com/Africas-World-War-Continental-Catastrophe/dp/0199754209

https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Glory-Monsters-Collapse-Africa/dp/1610391071

If she'd like to read about a largely under-studied war, check out Africa's World War, about the outbreak of a very big, messy and complicated conflict in Central Africa following the Rwandan genocide. A great read for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

There's a couple of reasons for this.

First, I mostly get dates from what I read. You may notice that since I posted it, the most recent changes I've made are about modern Africa. That's because I'm reading this at the moment: https://www.amazon.com/Africas-World-War-Continental-Catastrophe/dp/0199754209 Obviously, time limits me somewhat in how much I can read.

Secondly, I do fill in gaps through Wikipedia some times. As you can probably tell, my main interests lie in classical and medieval times, so I'm far more likely to focus on those gaps.

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I know a decent amount this is probably the best book on the conflict https://www.amazon.ca/Africas-World-War-Continental-Catastrophe/dp/0199754209