The LRA and Its Costs on Economic Security in Gulu District, Northern Uganda

Anne Abaho,Solomon Asiimwe,Micheal Mawa

doi:10.4236/jss.2019.711011

Abstract

The study acknowledged economic security as part of the wider security conceptions especially in human security. Using the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the study brought to light the costs of conflict on economic security particularly in Gulu district, Northern Uganda. It adopted a qualitative approach and relied on primary data collection methods (Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and observation) to assess how conflict affected economic security. Field findings revealed that the conflict had tremendous effects on economic security ranging from destruction of property and loss of assets, reduction in production and persistent poverty among others. The study recommended that the government should deliberately target the most vulnerable groups for training and skilling as well as capitalization of income generating projects.

Highlights

The objective of the study was to; assess the economic insecurities resulting from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in Gulu District, Northern Uganda
Using the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the study brought to light the costs of conflict on economic security in Gulu district, Northern Uganda
The LRA was technically defeated and extinguished out of Uganda in 2006, and an economic recovery effort undertaken by the government of Uganda thereafter, under several programmes such as the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF); Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP), the legacies of the conflict are still economically felt by the people to date

Summary

Introduction

The objective of the study was to; assess the economic insecurities resulting from the LRA conflict in Gulu District, Northern Uganda. These consequences have serious implications on both State and human security. Security in the traditional sense, following the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, that brought into existence the modern-day State, was conceived of as consisting in the use of military power to protect the State from external threats [4] This view, which dominated the security discourse for centuries was drumbeat by radical, classical and neo-realists such as Hobbes, Morgenthau, Waltz and Kissinger who contended that the referent object of security is the state, and that the state and the military are the means to achieve maximum security in an anarchical world [5]. Security was seen this way because the major threats to the survival of States were conceived of as external

Objectives

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion