Multilateralism and Liminal Governance: Regional Conflict in Eastern and Central Africa

The eastern geographic corridor on both sides of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to be violent. The DRC, Ugandan, South Sudanese, and Rwandan governments have individually pledged to address this violence, and they have met with more failure than success as both the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the March 23 Movement (M23) terrorize communities, especially in the North Kivu region of the DRC. Where states fail to create stability, multilateral organizations have stepped in. In the case of the DRC, states and other stakeholders, including the contentious participation of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), have coordinated to resolve the conflict, bringing peacekeepers, as well as financial and material support. Though MONUSCO has struggled to fulfil its mandate, its absence is almost certain to destabilize the region. Multilateral peacekeeping operations, especially those executed by the United Nations (UN), are often blamed for inaction, mandate drift, peacekeeper misconduct, mismanagement and insufficiently funded programs. However, these criticisms against MONUSCO are neither unique to UN missions nor unique to multilateral operations in Africa. While these shortcomings apply here, MONUSCO’s presence in the eastern DRC has generally benefited the region. Multilateral intervention in eastern Congo has brought more accountability, resources, and opportunity than there would be otherwise. Removing multilateral organizations from the DRC promises to cultivate the conditions for corruption, human rights abuses, and national government neglect that invited the violence which made the initial intervention necessary.