Email: l.lenhart@gu.ac.ug, lioba.lenhart@uni-koeln.de

Dr. phil. Lioba Lenhart is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies (IPSS) of Gulu University, Uganda.

Before she joined Gulu University, she taught at the Institute of Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Cologne and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, European Network on Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA) Programme, Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany). She carried out long-term ethnographic field research in Malaysia, Indonesia and Uganda and published an edited volume, two books and numerous articles. She has also worked as a trainer and consultant in the field of crisis prevention, conflict transformation and peace building in Germany, Indonesia and Uganda. Her current research interests include culture as a source of conflict and resource for conflict transformation and peace building, conflicts over land and natural resources, mental health in post-conflict situations and public-police relationships.

Her research in the context of the TrustLand project will focus on the issue of ‘people and parks’. She will examine conflicts over protected areas for nature/wildlife conservation in Amuru and Nwoya Districts in northern Uganda. Her research interests include (1) community perspectives and actual social practice (specific cases) concerning the economic, legal, political, social, cultural and environmental implications of conflicts over protected areas, people’s trust/mistrust in the governance over land acquisition for wildlife protection, and their risk evaluation and coping strategies in the context of these conflicts; (2) the ways in which local political and traditional leaders and representatives of the Uganda Wildlife Authority seek to gain or strengthen legitimacy and trust in their dealing with these conflicts, and the material, social and symbolical gains (wealth, power, meaning) expected and/or derived from the relations between leaders and the community; and (3) approaches and challenges to conflict resolution for all parties involved, including wildlife.

Selected publications

2013    Alleged Land Grabs and Governance: Exploring Mistrust and Trust in Northern Uganda. The Case of the Apaa Land Conflict. Journal of Peace and Security Studies. (In press).

2012    Negotiating Justice for Northern Uganda. In Ovuga, E., Opiyo, E., Obika, J.A. & Olido, K.  (eds.): Conflict and Peace Studies in Africa. Gulu: Gulu University. 90-114.

2010    (with Julia Vorhölter): Theorising Peace and Conflict – An Anthropological Approach. Gulu University Journal, Vol. 1. 169-178.

2010    Conflict Transformation, Reconciliation and Peace Building in Northern Uganda – Anthropological Perspectives. In Tagou, C. (ed.): The Dynamics of Conflict, Peace and Development in African Societies. Yaoundé: Presses des Universités Protestantes d’Afrique, Series AIPCD. 129-158.

2008    Sea Nomads’ Mobile Dwellings and Settlements and Their Ideas of Place and Space. In: Schefold, R., Nas, P., Domenig, D. & Wessing, R. (eds.): Indonesian Houses, Volume 2. Leiden: KITLV. 309-41.

2007    Der Konflikt im Norden Ugandas. Working Paper 2007, No. 1. Vienna: Institute for Integrative Conflict Transformation and Peace Building.

2006    Der Krieg im Norden Ugandas: Konfliktdimensionen und Friedenspotenziale. Journal für Entwicklungspolitik Vol. 3, 6. Vienna: Mandelbaum Verlag. 84-113.

2004    Orang Suku Laut. In: Ember, C. R. & Ember, M. (eds.): Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World’s Cultures. New York: Kluwer Academic Plenum Publishers & Human Relations Area Files. 750-759.

2002    Fließende Grenzen. Konstruktion, Oszillation und Wandel ethnischer Identität der Orang Suku Laut im Riau-Archipel, Indonesien. TerraMare: Studien zur maritimen Ethnologie, Vol.1. Aachen: Shaker.

2001    (with Michael J. Casimir): Environment, Property Resources and the State: An Introduction. Nomadic Peoples, Special Issue (ed. by Lenhart, L. & Casimir, M.J.), NS Vol. 5, 2. 6-20.

2001    Orang Suku Laut Communities at Risk. Effects of Modernisation on the Resource Base, Livelihood and Culture of the ‘Sea Tribe People’ of the Riau Islands (Indonesia). Nomadic Peoples, Special Issue (ed. by Lenhart, L. & Casimir, M.J.), NS Vol. 5, 2. 64-85.