This study is an analysis of how military issues can contribute to a sustainable ending of civil wars particularly in Africa. The continuous warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 1996 and 2004 is used to understand the nature of civil wars and how they relate to classical strategic theory of war in general and their termination in particular. According to classical strategic military theory, war must always be guided by clear political objectives. Without this, war becomes an irrational act and spins out of control. Tactical victory gained in the battlefield over an opponent must be translated into strategic victory for war to end sustainably. This can only be done if the political objective of the war has been attained. But also crucial are the terms and conditions of peace that the victor offers the defeated opponent. Not all wars end with a tactical victory in the battlefield. In many instances of modern wars, and in particular with the current civil wars in Africa, there is a stalemate. This forces the belligerent parties to negotiate. Within the context of the DRC, the first war (1996-1997) ended in a tactical victory for the Rwandan alliance (composed of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi) over the regime of President Mobutu. However, this victory was not translated into strategic victory (long term peace). The alliance, despite having installed a new leader (Laurent Kabila) in the DRC, remained an occupying force, with the Rwandan military commander taking over the role of the DRC’s military chief of staff. This was in part because the political objectives of the Rwandan alliance had changed from revenge on Mobutu for sheltering and supporting the perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda, to economic exploitation of the abundant natural resources of the DRC. The outcome was that the proxy (Kabila) turned against his backers as he sought to gain legitimacy and support from his fellow Congolese citizens. President Kabila ordered the Rwandan alliance out of the country. The alliance then started a second war (1998-2002) aimed at deposing the former proxy and establishing new proxies. The situation had however changed as the old proxy (Kabila) had acquired new partners (Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe). This, apart from transforming the DRC war into Africa’s first continental war (in terms of the number of countries that were eventually involved), turned into a stalemate. This resulted in negotiations that took a long time to complete. The first round of negotiations produced the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement (LCA) in 1999 with two independent tracks that led to two levels of agreements: inter-state agreements and intra-state agreements. None of these were implementable until 2002 when the DRC negotiated with Rwanda and with Uganda separately on military issues of the conflict. These negotiations produced the Pretoria Accords between the DRC and Rwanda, and the Luanda Accords between the DRC and Uganda. The withdrawal of the militaries of Rwanda and Uganda from the DRC paved way for their proxies, The Rally for Congolese Democracy - Goma (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie - RCD-Goma) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (Mouvement de Libération du Congo – MLC) to join the Inter-Congolese National Dialogue (ICND) which ended in 2004 without a conclusive agreement on military issues. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Political Sciences / PhD / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / I set out to rethink the ongoing conflict in North Kivu and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). I highlight two problems with regards to the current conceptualisation of the conflict in North Kivu and South Kivu. The first is a theoretical problem and here I demonstrate that the Banyarwanda and Banyamulenge’s quest for belonging has so far been restricted to citizenship. Congolese Banyarwanda and the Banyamulenge find themselves in a peculiar situation, at various times in the postcolonial Congolese state they had recognition from above but lacked recognition from below. It is in this context that a politics of belonging developed. The second problem is with regards to the history of the conflict. I argue that most scholarly works take the 1993 conflict in North Kivu as the starting point of the conflict, but the conflict can be traced back to an earlier date. It was with this in mind that I pose the following question: Can the conflict in North and South Kivu in the DRC be considered as a politics of belonging between indigenous Congolese and Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese, and a contest for survival between Hutu and Tutsi elites? My research is qualitative and since the problem is theoretical and historical I had to think about how the conflict was presented in terms of definitions, meaning, concepts, and so on. Therefore, this research is guided by critical theory and uses a case study research design. For this purpose, I relied on both primary and secondary data. Primary data sources for this study include the following: photographs that was taken while I was deployed in the DRC as a soldier, my personal deployment diary, internet newspaper articles, research reports of the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, a focus group with expats from North Kivu and South Kivu, a questionnaire I distributed among expats from the DRC and an online discussion forum.

In considering how women navigate the complexity and gendered aspects of the artisanal mining industry, this study seeks to unpack women's labour at step one of the global supply chain of coltan, in the post-conflict context of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Female miners are largely excluded from mine work by blurry regulatory frameworks, gendered social norms and financial disparities, however they manage to remain active labourers in the artisanal mining industry. Within a broader socio-political context of poverty, political instability and rural livelihoods, women maintain access to mine work through strategies, often premised on a gendered solidarity, such as organizing into collectives, engaging in small group collaborations and employing creative ruses to maintain the secrecy of their labour. This thesis seeks to analyze women's exclusions from mine work and the subsequent strategies they employ to circumvent those exclusions and maintain work in the mines. Based on three months of ethnographic fieldwork at artisanal coltan mine sites in Masisi Territory in the province of North Kivu, this study employs ethnographic observations, focus group and interview methodologies.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Karolina Svobodová The Causes of Sexual Violence in the Armed Conflict in the DRC abstract My dissertation thesis (The Motivations of Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a case study of sexual violence in armed conflict in the DRC examining and analysing the causes of its intensity and extent. The main research questions of the study are: - What are the causes of the systematic sexual violence in the armed conflict in the DRC? - Why sexual violence in the armed conflict in the DRC occurs in the large extent and with high intensity? The research theoretically stems from the constructivism as one of the three main scientific approaches to sexual violence in armed conflicts. Since the constructivism presents male and female identities as social constructs, it seems as the best approach to sexual violence where gender of victims and perpetrators is often generalized by supporters of essentialism. Hence, the inherent neutralism of constructivism makes it very suitable instrument for an empirical research. Further, the study works with combination of feminism, cultural anthropology, and feminist evolutionary psychology in the construtivist framework. This blend may seem incoherent but it allows a complex insight into the issue of sexual violence in the DRC and an interpretation of its...

The thesis focuses on the historical-diachronic analysis of the development of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s educational sector, with particular reference to the context of Nord Kivu and its capital Goma. The thesis aim is to understand and investigate how the DRC's educational sector has managed to be resilient over time (especially with regard to its funding), taking into account the interaction of different actors involved. Through the application of Tobias Hagmann and Didier Péclard's negotiated statehood approach to the Congolese educational sector and to a specific school in Goma, Bemba Gombo / Saint Franҫois Xavier Insitute, it is possible to understand who are the principal actors in the educational field, and which actors are excluded from the negotiating tables of the Congolese educational sector.

The title of this dissertation is “The early years of the Dutch Reformed Congregation of Utrecht and churchly Disruption” The decistion to associate with the Cape Reformed Church, was already taken at the foundation meeting of the congregation on 19 November 1854. This, however, was not as simple as meets the eye. The first inhabitans of course knew no other church than the Dutch Reformed Church. When crossing borders on their trek from the Cape Colony, they did not only take with them the Bible in the wagon box; they also remained members of the Dutch Reformed Church. From the diary of Erasmus Smit (the only person who accompanied the Great Trek as minister of religion), it is clear that he was a loyal supporter of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was very fond of following the tracks of the Dutch Reformed Church very closely, as far as the organisation and order of church affairs were concerned , not only regarding the organisation and order of church affairs, but also the devotion to the same confession of faith illustrates unity with the Cape Mother-church. The first years reflect a time of great turbulence on churchly as well as political terrain. This was a time during which the church was right in the midst of the battle for Liberalism. Fundamental truths, such as the virgin birth of Christ and other vital believes were under strong criticism and doubt. Therefore the importance of this subject is taken into serious discussion. The conflict around the confession is also adressed. This is the quia – viewpoint was accepted; the viewpoint that confession was accepted , “because it is in line with Scripture”. This viewpoint directly opposes the more liberal quatenus – vieupoint, which adheres to the articles of faith , “in as much as they agree with the Word of God.” These also were times of immense political conflict. The Boer Republics stood by the opinion that they also wanted to be free of the church living under British Colonial rule. These were all contributing factors to the final rift in church ranks. In such a turbulent world, the young Utrecht congregation had to find her way. The congregation was heavily blamed for her decision to stand by her choice of connecting to the Cape Dutch Reformed Church. The Reverant Frans Lion Cachet, first minister to the Utrecht Congregation, would play a leading role in this regard. His contribution is therefore discussed in detail. From the above - mentioned , the reasons for church division are clearly observed. Valuable lessons are learned on how to address similar divisions of the present and how they can be overcome. / Dissertation (MTh(Theol))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Many refugees and asylum seekers have emigrated from The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has a long history of unrest and instability. Besides its own citizens, South Africa is a refugee receiving country. Its obligations to people seeking refuge within its borders are outlined in both, international and domestic law.

The subject of discourse in this study is ‘leadership and governance imperatives for development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’. The qualitative research method was deemed the most suitable in attaining the objectives of the study. The study comprises six chapters. The main objective of the study is to contribute to an understanding of the challenges that constitute a stumbling block for the establishment of a system that promotes good governance and places the DRC on the path to development. Beyond the analysis of challenges, the study also examines the environment in which leaders evolve and it focuses on leadership challenges and governance imperatives that prevail in the current setting of the country. In this context, the study formulates a framework for leadership development. The study aims at proposing a perspective for leadership development considering the fact that the DRC urgently requires leaders who are competent and effective, and who can consider modern principles of management and governance as provided by the case studies of Brazil and Botswana in order to offer the much needed leadership in the nation-building process. Considering the crises the DRC has endured throughout the years, leadership’s role is of great importance as leaders have the ability to transform the adverse circumstances that Congolese people have faced since the inception of independence. The study insists that is possible only if leaders can inspire hope and change the patterns of how things have been done in the country. The DRC needs leaders who are able to help unleash its potential and allow the country to regain and to maximise its strategic position as a significant player in the continental geopolitical affairs. The thesis argues that the success of any leadership mainly depends on the kind of social order that prevails in the DRC and on the type of the political arrangement adopted by its leaders. The main challenge facing the DRC is establishing an effective leadership. The legacy of colonisation coupled with the misrule by Congolese cadres have made it difficult for the DRC to secure a system that promotes good governance and creates conditions for economic development. An effective and purposeful leadership has the ability to provide a clear policy guideline that might bring about change in the functioning of the country’s institutions. In the case of the DRC, an effective leadership will be the one that will create an environment that promotes the reforms much needed in the political and administrative structures of the country and, consequently, enhance conditions for a successful implementation of policies for the betterment of all. This study proposes that Congolese people deserve a civilised nation and a set of capable leaders who can maximise the country’s abundant resources so that citizens can benefit from the country’s wealth. As soon as the DRC finds the path to prosperity and development, it will be possible for the country to also impact positively on its neighbouring countries and the whole continent at large. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2013 / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

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