Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution in Central Africa: A Case Study of the Republic of Congo, 1965-199

This dissertation is an attempt to analyze the political roots of ethno-violent conflicts in the Republic of Congo and efforts made to address them. It seeks to analyze whether there is a correlation between Western style democratic practices and the prevalence of the ethno-violent conflicts in the Republic of Congo. In fact, the Republic of Congo also known as Congo-Brazzaville as opposed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire went through consecutive ethno-violent conflicts that seemed to have started in 1959, a few months before its independence in August 15, 1960. Despite efforts made by the government and other non-governmental organizations to try to address ethno-violent conflicts in Congo, violent conflicts seem to persist. This study tries to explore why violent conflicts persist in Congo and what innovative approaches can be used to better address them. In addition to the readings, the qualitative method with interviews and surveys with the Congolese diaspora around Washington DC areas have been useful in assessing the core problems in this dissertation.;While many variables have been explored, the general paradigm around the root causes of ethno-violent conflicts seems to reveal that although the Congolese leaders seem to present ethnicity as the main factor in violent conflicts, the research findings reveal that both the search for a sustainable economy and political competition seem to be the primary factors in ethno-violent conflicts. Although ethnicity may be considered as an intermediary factor in violent conflicts in the Republic of Congo, it has been more like a tool for political mobilization rather than being a primary cause in violent conflicts.;Furthermore, the legacies of the French colonization in the Republic of Congo have been a secondary factor in ethno-violent conflicts in the Republic of Congo. In fact, colonization had significant impacts on the Congolese way of thinking and solving their conflicts. Although there were minor ethnic conflicts before colonization in Congo, they became institutionalized only after colonization split the country along ethnic lines. As a result, ethnic conflicts turned violent in Congo following economic and political competitions. Consequently, Western democratic practices had more negative impacts on the promotion of political development in Congo because their implementation in Congo reshaped how the people of Congo interpreted democracy by trying to encourage the formation of new social and political classes that engaged in violent political competitions by resorting to private militias along ethnic lines.