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Food And Commensality In Non-State Armed Groups: The Case Of The Lord's Resistance Army In Northern Uganda, 1987-2008, Eunice Otuko Apio Dr

Peace and Conflict Studies

The subfield of food and eating practices has registered a significant volume of theoretical and empirical studies. However, there is very limited research targeting non-state armed groups. This article contributes to understanding the nuanced role of food and eating practices (or commensality) in conflict, and its significance in the construction and sustenance of sense of community in non-state armed groups that use particularly elaborate means of indoctrination to build a following. Drawing on the case of northern Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that thrived on mass abduction of children, youth and women between 1987 and 2008, this article argues that …