Gulu Town in War...and Peace? Displacement, Humanitarianism and Post-War Crisis

This paper explores the unique place of Gulu town within the 21-year civil war in northern
Uganda. It explores the conditions faced by the large internally displaced population of
Gulu, and explains why it has remained relatively stable despite the significant level of
displacement. The paper explores the social changes that have occurred among the displaced
population in Gulu’s tenuous urban environment, focusing on the breakdown of male,
lineage-based authority and on the impact of town life on women and ex-rebels. Finally, the
paper argues that Gulu town, despite its present stability, may become a destabilising force in
the region after the war ends, when internal conflict within post-war Acholi society could lead
to a new phase of displacement; and Gulu town could become a haven for large numbers of
the dispossessed, excluded and victimised. The paper concludes by asking how to manage
this possible scenario through specific interventions into Gulu’s urban economy and society,
and how Gulu might become a catalyst of peace and stability, and not of further violence and
instability, in the post-war period.