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The Impact of the Force Intervention Brigade’s Use of Offensive Force in Attaining Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Lessons Learnt
The Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) was established in 2013 as the most uniquely armed brigade in the history UN peace operations to promote security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Among others, the Force was mandated first, to use all necessary means to protect civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders and to support the Government of the DRC in stabilization and peace consolidation efforts. Second, to adhere to the core principles of peacekeeping operations – consent of the parties to the conflict, impartiality, and non-use of force. While the FIB registered tactical successes within a short time after its deployment, a myriad of challenges beset it subsequently, essentially generating serious questions on the impact FIB’s use of offensive force has had in contributing to the quest for the attainment of peace and promotion of security in the DRC. The main argument is that the FIB’s offensive use of force, while demonstrably suitable in the shorter term in addressing the threat posed by the Movement of March 23 (M23) rebel group against civilians and stability in eastern DRC, questions still remain on how such use of force can sustainably be balanced with the requirement for the UN force to adhere to the core principles of UN peacekeeping (i.e. consent of the parties to the conflict, impartiality, and non-use of force). As such, this article examines the conflicting realities, at the tactical or micro-level, between the execution of robust mandates and the maintenance of basic norms of peacekeeping norms. The findings show that, while offensive force can deter the violence and impunity meted by armed groups (AGs) in the shorter term, it rarely has the ability to secure lasting peace, partly due to the enduring political, social, and structural set up obtaining in the conflict area and beyond. The study concludes that, to achieve durable peace, military action of any magnitude must be firmly in support of the political process and dialogue, local community engagement, and post-conflict development.
The Boundaries of the Future: Child Protection as a Promise of Peace for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Child protection is a well-known imperative of multidimensional United Nations (UN) peace operations, especially its stabilization operations. However, as illustrated by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), protection is guided by a political imaginary that places children affected by conflict in a place and time devoid of political agency: childhood. Resisting the universalizing and seemingly incontestable nature of this space-time, this study is guided by the following question: How do child protection mechanisms in the context of MONUSCO simultaneously reproduce and inform a universalizing conception of childhood and of the child as passive and irrational? Our central argument is that a number of pillars form the basis of the ways child protection mechanisms reflect and inform this conception of childhood: reintegration into the family, promotion of physical health, the assurance of education, and the assurance of leisure. However, this last pillar was found to be absent from MONUSCO documents. Consequently, leisure becomes dependent on the mission fulfilling its security objectives and peace becomes no more than a promise that is repeatedly made and deferred by the UN to Congolese children and to the DRC
A Cry of Peace in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: Evaluating Multiple Layers of Peace Processes
This paper critically examines the nature and implementation of peace approaches and agreements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country plagued by nearly three decades of armed conflict and instability. Employing qualitative research method, including field interviews with local communities, government officials, former warlords, Congolese academics, and civil society actors – this analysis goes beyond dominant academic narratives that emphasize state misgovernance, economic drivers, geopolitical tensions in the Great Lakes region, colonial legacies, ethnic tensions between autochthon citizens and Congolese of Rwandan origin (Rwandophones). Instead, it critically examines the design flaws and implementation malpractices of peace initiatives that have inadvertently sustained armed conflict and undermined their own effectiveness in the DRC. Key peace efforts examined in this paper, which served as foundations for peace processes in the DRC include the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, the Global and All-Inclusive Accord (Sun City), United Nations peacekeeping missions, and successive disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs.
Conflict Management and Peacebuilding: Pillars of a New American Grand Strategy
In June 2009, President Obama traveled to Egypt to make good on a campaign promise to mend U.S. relations with the Muslim world and to repair America’s tarnished image in the world. Immediately after taking over the White House, President Obama had launched a series of foreign policy initiatives—e.g., ordering the closure of the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; sending additional troops to Afghanistan while ordering the withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq; promoting democratic reform, economic development, and peace and security across the Middle East and North Africa; and negotiating and ratifying a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia
L’Agenda Femmes, Paix et Sécurité: 20 ans après
Au cours des deux dernières décennies et avec l’historique de la résolution 1325 des Nations Unies, le rôle des femmes en tant que victimes et actrices dans les conflits a fait l’objet d’une grande attention de la part des chercheurs, des décideurs et des praticiens. Cependant, malgré les progrès réalisés en termes de cadre, de structures et de formation, les femmes restent marginales dans les processus formels de paix et de sécurité et sont continuellement soumises au fléau de la violence sexuelle et sexiste dans les situations de conflit et de non conflit. Il est urgent de repousser les limites afin que nous puissions devenir plus innovants
Mediating Conflict in West Africa
Conflicts in West Africa have become increasingly very complex, involving a multitude of actors operating at different levels. The gamut of contentious issues fuelling such conflicts is also equally diverse. The litany of issues includes the nature of inter-state borders inherited from colonial times. Most of these borders were poorly carved without recourse to history and the socio-political realities of those living on the continent. Consequently, what is currently being flagged geographically as a state, in most cases does not comprehensively represent the cultural aspirations and the common identity that citizens would like to be associated with.
Paix, justice et réconciliation en Afrique: Opportunités et défis liés à la lutte contre l’impunité
Le rapport propose un projet de cadre stratégique sur la justice transitionnelle devant être soumis pour adoption aux organes pertinents de l’UA et il recommande un rôle de plaidoyer pour le Groupe des Sages dans le domaine de la promotion et du renforcement des principes directeurs liés à l’état de droit et à la justice transitionnelle sur tout le continent africain. En fait, depuis la première version du rapport en 2009, l’UA s’est lancée dans l’articulation d’une vision claire et plus cohérente de l’application contemporaine de la justice transitionnelle en Afrique.
Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking in Peacebuilding A Systemic Peace Design Framework for Conflict Transformation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Peacebuilding interventions in complex conflict environments increasingly struggle to produce sustainable outcomes due to the multidimensional nature of contemporary conflicts. Traditional approaches often focus either on structural political reforms or community-based reconciliation initiatives without adequately linking these levels of analysis and practice. This article proposes an integrated framework combining systems thinking and design thinking to address complex conflict systems. Systems thinking provides analytical tools for understanding the structural drivers, feedback loops, and leverage points that sustain violence, while design thinking introduces participatory methodologies for co-creating context-specific peacebuilding interventions with affected communities.
Handbook of peace and conflict studies
The importance of securing international peace was recognized by the really great men of former generations. But the technical advances of our times have turned this ethical postulate into a matter of life and death for civilized mankind today, and made the taking of an active part in the solution to the problem of peace a moral duty which no conscientious man can shirk.
manuel d' éducation à la paix pour la région des grands lacs
La région des Grands Lacs a souffert des nombreux conflits et atrocités au fil des décennies. De nombreux groupes de population ont aussi bien souffert de violences physiques que psychologiques, sous diverses formes. Les jeunes tout comme les adultes de tous types de groupes sont atteints négativement par les cycles de violence. Beaucoup n’ont jamais fait l’expérience d’un temps de paix dans leurs vies sans avoir été témoin de violence ou d’oppression. Pour eux, le continuum de violence est presque devenu la normalité. Les méthodes non violentes de résolution des conflits, comme la construction et le renforcement des initiatives de paix ne sont généralement pas utilisés ou souvent tout simplement inconnus. Le manuel d’éducation à la paix a pour objectif de fournir et de promouvoir un contre-exemple : une culture de paix en reconnaissance de l’escalade généralisée de la violence dans la région des Grands Lacs.
La médiation internationale dans la résolution des conflits : Un regard théorique
L‟étude de la médiation internationale en science politique s‟est développée en plusieurs étapes. Tout d‟abord, des auteurs comme Johan Galtung, Kenneth Boulding ou John Burton ont initié les études sur la paix (Peace studies) au sortir de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Mais c‟est essentiellement à partir des années 1970 que les travaux d‟auteurs comme Oran Young, Jacob Bercovitch, I. William Zartman, ou encore Christopher Mitchell ont contribué à structurer la médiation internationale comme un champ de recherche scientifique à part entière. Les revues académiques en langue anglaise, comme The Journal of Conflict Resolution ou The Journal of Peace Research, ont également fortement participé à l‟essor des études sur la médiation internationale.
Architects of Failure: Elite Extraversion and the Strategic Collapse of Peace Agreements in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2000–2018)
Despite numerous peace accords signed during the 21st century, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—particularly its eastern provinces—remains trapped in structural instability and violent conflict. This article investigates why two landmark peace initiatives, the Sun City Agreement (2002) and the 23 March Agreement (2009), failed to establish sustainable peace. Structured using the IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) framework, this study adopts a deductive, mixedmethods approach that integrates qualitative document analysis with quantitative event data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED 2013). Drawing on C. Wright Mills' (1956) concept of the 'power elite' and Jean-François Bayart's (2000) theory of extraversion, the study demonstrates that peace processes in the DRC functioned not as mechanisms for conflict resolution, but as arenas for elite extraversion and individual interest contestation. Domestic and regional elites systematically employed extraversion strategies—coercion, trickery, appropriation, and rejection—to convert peace accords into instruments for patronage division, political survival, and private capital accumulation. Consequently, peace initiatives became ends in themselves rather than outcomes of genuine national reconciliation.
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