Batwa return to their Eden? Intricacies of violence and resistance in eastern DRCongo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park

This article builds on debates about conflicts surrounding territorialisation for conservation. It elaborates on how slow violence can generate covert resistance which in turn transitions toward forms of overt resistance and sudden violence. Taking eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Kahuzi-Biega National Park as an example, it argues that the violent reoccupation of the park by indigenous Batwa communities can be explained by three factors: (i) the failure of peaceful strategies of rightful resistance; (ii) an increase in the level of threats to the Batwa; and (iii) the arrival of opportunities for the Batwa to forge alliances with different stakeholder groups.