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Since the 1990s the Great Lakes Region has continued to be mired in intractable conflict, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being at the center of it. The aim of this study is therefore an attempt to understand how the InternationalConference of the Great Lakes Region has fared in the transformation of conflict in the region, through its attempts in the DRC. For the purpose of the study, conflict transformation as presented by John Paul Lederachwas used as a theory of analyzing the selected peace efforts by the ICGLR. Furthermore, the data used in the study were secondary data which consists of archival records and documentation. The study revealed two key issues in the ICGLR’s approach to peace attempts in DRC; it showed that there are gaps in the conflict transformation approach of the earlier attempts by the ICGL, which favored more political solutions. Secondly, a rethink of the approach revealed a much more robust approach, which seeks to address not only the political conflicts but also seeks to address the historical and structural conflicts in the region. However, with the positive change in the approach, there are still high levels of conflict in the DRC.

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This dissertation scrutinises two related claims that were particularly heightened in 2009 as the European Union (EU) was celebrating the first tenth anniversary of its European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the implementing arm of its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). First, the two policy frameworks allegedly embodied sufficient added value for bettering EU intervention for human protection purposes in third places. Second, the ESDP supposedly enabled the EU to make a difference in its response to two bloody wars that broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) successively in 1996 and 1998. This thesis argues that the alleged added value and difference have been overstated at best. While various studies have taken a similar position, they have important shortcomings for at least four reasons: lack of a comprehensive account of the CFSP motives, capacities, and response; exclusive focus on civil and military operations; focus on the post-Second Congo War period; and a lack of conceptual clarity regarding two key terms – ‘conflict resolution’ and ‘peacebuilding’. This thesis goes beyond generalisation and undertakes a forensic examination of the CFSP statements, decisions, and actions precisely through the lens of Conflict Resolution (CR): a specific subject area of study with its own normative, theoretical, and practical advantages and shortcomings; and with a more comprehensive and indeed seminal conceptualisation of peacebuilding. The outcome is a far more nuanced assessment of failure and success of the EU’s peace endeavours in this context than can be obtained through a broad-brush approach to analysis / European Community-funded Sustainable Peacebuilding (SPBUILD) Research Training Network; University of Deusto’s ‘RETOS’ research group on socio-cultural and human rights challenges in a changing world.

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The study goes beyond knowledge existing in the literature study of the philosophy and theory of knowledge, knowledge management, African knowledge and the management of knowledge by African institutions, including the peace and security architecture of Africa, to reveal a coherent conceptual framework and themes to guide the field research. During the field studies of specific cases in the Great Lakes region of Africa, principles and practices emerged that formed a framework for a constructed Trans-dimensional Knowledge Management Model (TDKM-M) to develop a theoretical model for the management of knowledge for conflict resolution as the first step towards the revival of Africa. The study proposes practical solutions for the management of knowledge that would empower decisionmakers to intervene successfully in conflict situations. Furthermore, the study serves to expand the knowledge base in the field of trans-disciplinary African studies, transcending the boundary between political science and epistemology to navigate the middle ground between disciplines and the space that lies beyond all disciplines and dichotomised thinking towards a new holistic understanding. A systems approach using MIT (multi-disciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity) and qualitative research methodology on a transnational level was followed. The study consists of a literature study and a field study consisting of a pilot study, semi-structured interviews and participation in communities of practice to access the worldviews of diverse cultures. An observable knowledge dimension, consisting of a normative foundation, empirical knowledge domain and analytical knowledge domain, is identified. Furthermore, a tacit metaphysical knowledge dimension is identified that is informed by the observable dimension. The two dimensions transacts with each other to attain a higher level of trans-dimensional knowledge. The TDKM-M proposes principles and practices of how trans-dimensional knowledge, including indigenous African knowledge and external knowledge, can be managed in a collective middle ground to produce holistic understanding. This higher level of understanding can activate intervention into the causes and consequences of conflict. Innovation of African society could follow, achieving desired outcomes such as peace, justice, human rights, self-empowerment and innovation towards transformative growth, competitiveness and negotiate equilibrium with the global community, and ultimately the revival of Africa. / Political Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil. (Politics)