“I need to protect everyone”

Abstract

This article examines violent masculinity and locates this performative identity within ethnic conflict and African masculinity literature. Analysis focuses on the development of Congolese Banyamulenge soldiers’ masculine narratives and moral justifications of violence. The article responds to this question: what is Banyamulenge violent masculinity, and how has it developed? The process of how Banyamulenge masculinity evolved in response to perceptions of threat, and elements of genocide are present. These men considered themselves the final protectors of Tutsis regionally and in the Congo, deploying a degree of exceptionalism. Using narrative analysis, this article engages the above literature and original fieldwork interviews with Banyamulenge soldiers and political actors. The concept of violent masculinity addresses the masculinity gap of broader ethnic conflict literature. This article also offers a significant empirical contribution in terms of Banyamulenge involvement in local and regional conflicts. Violent masculinity evolved as a Banyamulenge practice, whilst being embedded in traditional structures.