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Christoph N. Vogel

@ethuin.bsky.social
1.3K followers 215 following 120 posts

Researcher, advisor, scholar and investigator. Hiphop and cooking aficionado. Kujenga amani lazima kuelewa vita.

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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Yes. Read that.
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Out now! Summary Report: Workshop on the Geopolitics of Critical Minerals and the AI Supply Chain www.ias.edu/sites/defaul... The report highlights how AI’s expansion is tied to critical minerals, energy, water, land, and labor—and why interdisciplinary approaches are essential for AI governance.🧵
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Last week, the US brokered a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda. As in many previous agreement, the dismantling of the FDLR figures prominently. If you like to dive deeper into why that may prove complicated, have a look at my recent essay about the group…
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
A true intellectual treat and privilege to participate in this timely workshop convened by @alondra.bsky.social @tcarayannis.bsky.social and Marie-Thérèse Png last week under Albert Einstein’s perennial sights at IAS.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
New report on how the outsourcing of warfare has become an ever more dominant feature of conflict in eastern Congo — with its very own protracted logics but not entirely unlike other theatres of contemporary wars. Read on and download below. www.ebuteli.org/publications...
ebuteli.org
Fighting Fire with Fire in Eastern Congo:The Wazalendo Phenomenon and the Outsourcing of Warfare | Ebuteli
This report traces the evolution of the Wazalendo (“patriots”) phenomenon, an eclectic coalition of armed groups which became key allies of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FA...
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Very insightful piece, thank you 🙏🏽
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Right on time for Labour Day, my latest piece of work which investigates the interplay of violent conflict, economic governance and the politics of conflict in eastern Congo through the prism of the FDLR’s “nonconventional logistics”. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Nonconventional Logistics: Rebellion, Resources and Rationalities in eastern Congo
Research on war economies is dominated by positivist paradigms of rationality and epistemic assumptions of alterity. Such frames misread how rebellion…
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Timely piece. Open Doors, some type of a messianic misinformation outlet, has also been instrumental in propagating the 12 February fake massacre of Christians reported from eastern Congo’s Beni area. Happy Easter everyone!
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
On this day in 2017, Michael J. Sharp and Zaida Catalán were assassinated while investigating war crimes in Congo’s Kasai region. Most people behind this political murder enjoy impunity until today, just as much as others involved in killings in the region for over three decades.
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Kristof Titeca @kristoftiteca.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Ali Kony was supposed to succeed his father Joseph Kony at the helm of the LRA. He acted as the LRA's 'foreign affairs minister', but decided to escape.This is a story about Ali, and what the LRA still means today. My article in @newhumanitarian.bsky.social www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2025...
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
#Germany perfectly aligning with global trends in tonight’s post-election TV shows. Election winners (except one…🌹) agitating in favour of breaking existing international and national law, losers timidly defending it.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Germany — Today is a good day to vote against Nazis, and anyone abetting or supporting them.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
“[…] Against this backdrop, the current escalation seems increasingly reminiscent of the turmoil and regional conflagration of the 1990s.” Written a year ago, where are we now? newleftreview.org/sidecar/post... @newleftreview.bsky.social
newleftreview.org
Christoph N. Vogel, Intractable Crisis — Sidecar
Escalation in the DRC.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Thanks for this reminder. If only German voters could go to the ballot with that in mind this weekend…
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Nanjala @nanjala.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
If you’ve never been there and all you read is the headlines you’d be forgiven for thinking that the DRC is just a basket case but for all its problems - and there are many - Bukavu is really one of the most beautiful places.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
In parallel, heavy gunfire was reported inside Uvira this morning and the situation along the RN5 stretch leading northwards towards Kamanyola and Bukavu remains tense. One of Bukavu’s most appreciated police commanders was killed by militia while retreating.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
On Saturday evening, the army shortly re-entered the city in view of displaying authority. However, with M23 entering the following morning, no further government troops had been seen in the city center in recent hours.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Parallel to first reports of M23 nearing Bagira neighborhood, FARDC and government authorities retreated. The retreat and parallel non-entry of M23 created a vacuum during which several warehouses and premises were emptied of stocks by civilians and scattered wazalendo.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Since last week, the possibility of an M23 move into Bukavu had led to negotiations in which civil society and church representatives had lobbied the military to avoid any major urban fighting similar to Goma on 28 and 29 January.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Evolutions around Bukavu, including the capture of Kavumu airport around Friday noon, have inspired more people to leave the area, many headed to Bujumbura. There, hundreds of Congolese who have entered legally are currently rounded up for unclear reasons.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
This morning, M23 entered #Bukavu and took control of key locations including the governor’s residence and Ruzizi 1 border crossing. Amidst broader confusion, M23 entry had been erroneously reported since Friday night owing to inconclusive videos circulating on social media.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Yesterday, I briefed the European Parliament on the escalating crisis in eastern Congo. The session can be streamed here: multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream...
multimedia.europarl.europa.eu
Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly Ordinary Meeting - Multimedia Centre
The multimedia platform of the European Parliament is the official public available repository of the media production of the Secretariat of the European Parliament, managed by the Directorate-General...
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Version française de notre analyse, avec @judithverweijen.bsky.social, du focus parfois exclusif et malsain sur les ressources naturelles dans la couverture de l’escalade des conflits dans l’est du Congo. www.jeuneafrique.com/1657155/poli...
jeuneafrique.com
Non, le conflit en RDC n’est pas qu’une histoire de « minerais de sang » - Jeune Afrique.com
Même si imputer la crise dans l’est du pays à une simple soif pour les ressources minières est séduisant, les médias internationaux, en se contentant de cette version incomplète, nourrissent un terrea...
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Mainstream discourse on conflict in eastern #Congo overemphasizes the role of natural resources. This precludes a more solid and thorough analysis overall. @judithverweijen.bsky.social and I explain how and why 👇🏼
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Centre on Armed Groups @armedgroups.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
M23’s resurgence is just one piece of a much larger regional crisis. Centre Fellow @ethuin.bsky.social explains the dynamics at play in the #EasternCongo in our latest rapid insight piece: www.armedgroupscentre.org/m23drc-vogel
armedgroupscentre.org
Centre on Armed Groups — The M23 crisis in the DRC
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Germany wasn’t either.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Heureux d’avoir contribué au dernier article de la toujours excellente @justinebrabant.bsky.social
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Sometimes the line between explaining and apologizing can be quite thin.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Constructive points, Tim 🙏🏽
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Centre on Armed Groups @armedgroups.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
In a new Q&A piece for the Centre, Fellow @ethuin.bsky.social unpacks the complexities of the #M23 conflict and the broader crisis in the #EasternDRC. Read it here: www.armedgroupscentre.org/m23drc-vogel
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Just deleted my previous tweet citing an RFI-reported OCHA number of 3000 killed in #Goma last week. I am told this number may not be wrong but also that the current state of oversight does neither allow to confirm or infirm this count.
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Cultures Monde @culturesmonde.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
🇨🇩 Conflit au Kivu : la crainte de l’escalade Il y a quelques jours, le groupe armé M23 s’emparait de Goma. La prise de la ville est-elle un tournant dans le conflit entre la RDC et le Rwanda ? Quelles conséquences pour les civils ? 🎧 @franceculture.fr www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Having taken control of key parts of #Goma (perhaps still a little early to talk in absolute terms), M23 and allies are now progressing in South Kivu, reducing distance to #Kavumu airport where important contingents of FARDC and Burundian forces have been concentrating recently.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Early afternoon in #Goma, M23 secured control over the city’s international airport (not operating since two days but the scene of protracted fighting) and began deploying more consistently downtown amidst further retreat of Congolese troops. Shooting considerably decreased.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Fighting continues this morning in several parts of #Goma as further M23 troops move in from western side (and seem to gain ground for now). Ambulances caught in crossfire. In parallel, demonstrators have attacked embassies in #Kinshasa, torching the French & Rwandan premises.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Not confirmed… :-/
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
So tonight I am not sharing any updates on #Goma because anything I followed up on in the last few hours I wasn’t able to verify or triangulate beyond reasonable doubt. Except perhaps that there is much less shooting in town tonight than during the day, and very little internet.
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Koen Vlassenroot @kvlassen.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
With the arrival of the #M23 in the city of Goma, the Congo crisis has entered a next stage and level of intensification. Many wonder why this could happen. In an analysis written a few months ago @ethuin.bsky.social and I provide some background.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
The risk of urban fighting in #Goma that many were afraid of is at least partly materialising, notably downtown around Quartier Volcans (near Rwanda border) and Himbi (further west in town. Sustained SALW fire in various other locations. Several instances of looting too.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
This morning, #Goma emerges in limbo with an unclear, highly dynamic situation. A wealth of footage circulates (mostly unverified), showing either M23 and Rwandan forces on one side, and FARDC and wazalendo on the other. Skirmishes are underway in various parts of town.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Yes. Colloquially called mercenaries.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
M23 troops further advancing towards downtown #Goma tonight, including airport. Many FARDC fleeing and/or in surrender talks, but heavy fighting (involving wazalendo?) in some areas, no sight of European contractors.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Reports on M23 troops entering northern #Goma in parallel to ongoing Security Council meeting. Here, stills from Bénédiction fuel station in Monigi, 2.5km from Goma airport. Tonight could be decisive, eyes on eastern #Congo
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Regular operations at #Goma airport are disturbed and UN evacuation flights appear to have been paused in the morning but there are occasional landings/starts including at least one commercial and one military aircraft (as of 14h local time).
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Fighting resumed this morning around Goma (shelling in Rusayo and combats between Monigi and Kibati). Goma airport has been closed by government authorities for the time being. Latest AFC (M23) communiqué declares “closure of airspace” over Goma.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
The most recent #M23 (AFC) communiqué calls on #Congo troops to lay down arms within 48h and for UN troops to take neutral stance. Sources on all sides say move onto #Goma within the next 2 days is among possible scenarios. Security Council has called emergency meeting for Monday.
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Amidst the clashes, consistent reports suggests that Pacifique Ntawunguka aka Omega, military leader of the FDLR would have been killed somewhere between Shove, Rusayo and Mugunga. Meanwhile UN personnel is partly been evacuated from Goma. 2/2
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Yesterday night’s fighting west of Goma left at least 3 SADC peacekeepers dead (informal sources say more, incl. perhaps UN peacekeepers too) and dozens wounded. A UN APC was destroyed. North of Goma, M23 made a move into the city’s outskirts, but seem to have retreated again. 1/2
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
SADC and UN troops deployed heavily on the sides of the Congolese army west of Goma in Mubambiro, Nzulo and Kasengezi while M23 pushed from Sake area and Ngwiro peninsula. North Kivu military governor was shot in so far unclear circumstances, then eventually died while being emergency-airlifted 2/2
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Christoph N. Vogel @ethuin.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
After last week’s heavy clashes in southern Masisi (including confrontation between two foreign armies on Congolese soil) with M23 taking Minova and other places, clashes resumed around Goma in the past two days. 1/2
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