Determinants of the Root Causes and Success Factors for the East African Community Regional Force Intervention in Managing Intractable Intrastate Conflicts in the DRC

Robert Santos Manana; Frank Khachina Matanga; Edmond Maloba Were

doi:10.51867/ajernet.5.3.96

Authors

Robert Santos Manana
sirsantos@rocketmail.com
Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1598-467X
Frank Khachina Matanga Professor of Political Science, Development Politics Subfield, Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1157-9980
Edmond Maloba Were Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies, Kisii University, Kenya https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1466-6682

Keywords:

Conflict, DRC, Dynamics, Conflicts, East African Community Regional Force, Intractable, Intervention, Intra-State

Abstract

Globally, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had one of the most intractable conflicts. Several attempts, ranging from global, continental, and regional levels, have been made to address these conflicts with little success. The deployment of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) in 2022, a period characterized by the emergence and intensification of the March 23 Movement (M23) — a rebel group that seeks to advance the interests of the Congolese Tutsi ethnic group within the DRC military and political system — was envisaged to change the fortunes regarding the conflicts in the DRC. This was because it would be the first localized attempt at intervention. However, since the intervention of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) in the DRC, there seems to have been little progress regarding the management of intractable conflicts. This paper sought to investigate the determinants of the success of the EACRF intervention in the management of the DRC’s intractable intra-state conflict. The study is underpinned by the interpretivism research philosophy, and the paper was anchored on Conflict Transformation Theory to sustain the study variables. The researcher adopted two research designs — descriptive survey and historical longitudinal research designs — to ensure valid research results. The target population was 297, from which a sample of 177 was derived, including EACRF ground personnel, military attachés, members of the local community, leaders of rebel groups, and refugees, who were sampled using census, simple random, snowballing, and purposive sampling techniques. The study findings established that EACRF's success was inhibited by a number of factors: 91 (60.66%) respondents acknowledged that institutional weaknesses in East African Community (EAC) states contribute to prolonged conflicts in the DRC. Additionally, 43 (28.66%) respondents stated that regional security competition, namely power rivalry, affects the management of the DRC conflict. Furthermore, 8 (5.33%) respondents cited the informal economy, and 8 (5.33%) respondents mentioned trans-border social networks as additional factors contributing to the complexity of internal conflict in the DRC. The paper concludes that the EACRF has had limited success due to several factors, thereby inhibiting its management of intractable intra-state conflicts in the DRC. The paper recommended that the EAC strategically focus on region-centric intervention in New Warfare in eastern DRC, especially in the Republics of Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, given that rebel groups originating from these nations frequently operate in the Eastern Region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Strengthening good governance in these states, including the DRC, is necessary to quell ethnic unrest that fuels internal and regional conflicts within the EAC.

Dimensions

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