1. Seen and approved: the transformation of ‘informal’ coffee trade and regulation on a Congolese-Ugandan border, eastern DRC Bram Verelst, Ghent University GAPSYM9 Symposium 17/12/15

4. Abstract Relation political-economic state reconstruction and ‘informalization’ coffee trade in Rwenzori borderland (eastern Congo/Uganda) Look into fiscal-regulatory efforts of state officials in two local border crossings: mountainous Muramba-Kitoma trail and Kyavinyonge-Kayanja lake trail Explore ambiguous relation state performance and ‘informal’ coffee trade, by looking into micro-processes of negotiation that shape economic regulation

5. 1. ‘Informalization’ of coffee trade: key historical dimensions Informalization Militarization Pluralization of economic regulation “Ugandanization” “Bringing the state back in”

6. “Dans un vase où il y a rien, l’air occupe” (Coffee trader, Lume, 23/03/14) “The Congolese army worked with us in a private way” (Coffee trader, Ihandiro (Uganda), 20/02/14) “They came here for security, now they are here for the coffee” (Coffee farmer, Muramba, 02/04/14)

7. What is the relation between this ‘renewed’ involvement of state officials and ‘parallel’ coffee trading networks? Look into taxation efforts of state actors at two rural border crossings (smuggling routes): Muramba-Kitoma and Kyavinyonge-Kayanja. Arrival of ONC (Office Nationale du Café). Historic pluralisation of economic rules and practices >< process of economic state reconstruction.

8. 2. Where are the boundaries of informality in Kivu’s political economy? “Any pretence of formality in DR Congo’s affairs have been abandoned” (Hart 2008, p. 7) Boundary formality/informality as “negotiation arena” (Hagmann & Péclard 2010), “force field” (Sikor-Lund 2009), “Negotiation process” (Rubbers 2007). ‘Practical norms’ (Olivier de Sardan 2008) as explanatory concept.

9. 2.2. Defining the driving force of (regulatory) ordermaking in Kivu’s post-war context It is within social relations that access to rents are organized, the boundaries of licit/illicit economies activity are defined and regulatory orders become routinized/institutionalized.  ‘Markets for protection’ and patronage networks (e.g. Raeymaekers 2010; Gambetta 1993)  Ethnicity (e.g. Nande trust network), kinship relations: ‘moral economy’ (Scott 1976; Olivier de Sardan 1999) of cross-border trade and corruption (Système D, fend-for-yourself).  ‘Official norms’: (idea of) state-sanctioned legality, discursive registers of, and claims to officiality (cfr. Moore 1978, Lund 2006, Hansen and Stepputat 2001)

10. 2.3. Interpreting the effects of ‘hybrid regulatory orders’ Authentic forms of state formation or hollowing out the state? (cfr. Meagher 2014) Pluralization of regulatory arrangements structure local markets, but how does this interact with wider processes of regional integration, social-economic transformation and structures/regimes of accumulation?

11. 3. Case studies: taxation efforts in Muramba and Kyavinyonge

13. ‘Social norms’ of coffee smuggling Scope of cross-border trade exceeds their local market: Muramba as trading hub for markets of Lume, Mutwanga, Mwenda, and Kyavinyonge for rural areas around Protection-cum-extortion Multiple state officials involved in local taxation schemes

14. 3. The arrival of ONC in Muramba (2014)

15. 3. The arrival of ONC in Kyavinyonge (2010) “We asked ONC to come to reglement the coffee trade, after too much extortion by the military” (TRAFFIC President, April 2014) “Nous travaillons avec eux pour la bonne marche du travail et en commun accord” (SQAV State official, April 2014) “Pour justifier, nous utilisons ces documents ici” (ONC, April 2014)

16. Conclusion Current state officials’ involvement in coffee trade builds on the ‘pluralizing’ logic of regulatory authority. Pre-existing protection/extortion rackets and systems of patronage expand through the inclusion and participation of new state actors, but can also be transformed. State officials broker access to these systems by using their authority and networks vested in formal statehood, and by including the social norms that separate licit and illicit acitvities. The arrival and strategies of such new actors demonstrates how the practical norms of cross-border coffee trade are part of continuous negotiation, over the distribution of rents but also over the perception and boundaries of (il)licit activities. Research on order-making and public authority in eastern DRC should give more attention to the performative power of Congolese statehood.

17. Discussion ‘Informal formalization’? ONC in Muramba vs Kyavinyonge. Regional integration? State encapsulated in logic of market?