From MONUC to MONUSCO and beyond: prospects for reconstruction, state-building and security governance in the DRC

Abstract

The announcement that all UN peacekeepers will be withdrawn from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2011 was met with a great deal of scepticism and even cynicism, specifically in view of several important challenges that remain obstacles in the country's post-conflict peacebuilding process. The article notes that in the case of the DRC, many analysts and role-players believe that the situation is still extremely fragile and that it is too early for UN peacekeepers to leave the country. At the same time, the DRC government is of the opinion that its security forces will be able to deal with the security situation in the absence of the UN forces. The article points out that the DRC tends to sustain a pattern of structural violence and privatised governance, and that its government still needs to make huge strides in creating a secure and peaceful environment — especially for civilians — through reconstruction, state-building and security governance.

Keywords:

• MONUC
• MOUSCO
• reconstruction
• state-building
• security governance
• peacekeeping operations
• peace
• security

Notes

The article expands on the discussion of a chapter that appeared in G Swart (ed.), A Vanquished Peace: Prospects for the Successful Reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2010, London: Adonis & Abbey, albeit in a different, updated and revised form.

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