governments need to be aware of their tax base and the needs of their citizens . Therefore , under this subtheme we also count studies on the quality of national surveys and country statistics . A concrete example is ‘ The challenge of measuring hunger ’ through surveys . Given the policy relevance of conflict and peace studies , SES researchers engage in public advocacy , as is testified by the publication of IOB Analyses & Policy Briefs but especially by the high number of opinion articles in newspapers or blogs on issues such as the political crisis in Burundi , the ‘ sliding ’ of Congolese presidential elections , the amendments to constitutional presidential term limits in several African countries , the violence in Uganda , DRC and South Sudan , and the nature of the Rwandan state . Capacity-building in the South is an important pillar of service delivery . For the SES research line , partnership with the Université Catholique de Bukavu ( UCB ) is particularly relevant , and embedded in institutional cooperation that began in 2011 . Its associated project , ‘ Expertise Center for Mining Governance ’ ( CEGEMI ), concentrates on the mining sector , which is critical for South Kivu ’ s economy and often mentioned as playing a key role in the historical and ongoing violence . Four PhD students from Bukavu and two Belgian PhD students are currently doing their doctoral research on the governance of natural resources , and three Master ’ s students from Bukavu have completed programmes in Belgium . In the framework of its cooperation with UCB , IOB contributed to the organisation of an international conference in Bukavu , DRC , on 8 , 9 and 10 December 2016 . The theme of the conference was ‘ Transition and Local Development in Eastern DRC ’. Its aim was to provide an overview of the current social science research on transitions and local developments in eastern DRC , to bridge the policy-academia divide , and to bring together a host of research institutions ( for more information , see Box on page 13 ). Through its Centre for the Study of the African Great Lakes Region , the IOB has continued to treat this geographical area as a major transversal focus , and this is reflected in the activities of all four research lines . The Centre ’ s yearbook ( L ’ Afrique des grands lacs . Annuaire 2015-2016 , University Press Antwerp ), published for the twentieth consecutive year , remains a major international reference , as is Conjonctures congolaises ( co-edited by Professor Emeritus Stefaan Marysse ), now in its sixth edition .
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS SES
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Briones Alonso , E ., Houssa , R . and Verpoorten , M . ( 2016 ) “ Voodoo versus fishing committees : the role of traditional and contemporary institutions in fisheries management ”, Ecological Economics , 122 : 61-70 .
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Bryceson , D . F . and Geenen , S . ( 2016 ) “ Artisanal frontier mining of gold in Africa : labour transformation in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo ”, African Affairs , 115 ( 459 ): 296-317 .
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De Herdt , T . and Titeca , K . ( 2016 ) “ Governance with empty pockets : the education sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo ”, Development and Change , 47 ( 3 ): 472-494 .
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Reyntjens , F . ( 2016 ) “ The struggle over term limits in Africa : a new look at the evidence ”, Journal of Democracy , 27 ( 3 ): 61-68 .
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Titeca , K . and Fahey , D . ( 2016 ) “ The many faces of a rebel group : the Allied Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo ”, International Affairs , 92 ( 5 ): 1189-1206 .
# # Vandeginste , S . ( 2016 ) “ Legal loopholes and the politics of executive term limits : insights from Burundi ”, Africa Spectrum , 51 ( 2 ): 39-63 .
12 • Annual Report 2016