SADC and the war in the Democratic republic of Congo : a critical view on the role of a regional organization in a conflict-torn memberstate

During the last decade we have seen a great increase in regional integration projects around the world. Several of them are found within the African continent; the continent holds one of the highest densities of regional organisations in the world. Southern African Development Community (SADC) represents one of the more enduring efforts of regional cooperation in southern Africa. With its 13 member countries SADC covers a vast area in southern Africa . The economic- and political situations in the different member states are diverse in several aspects . Another salient feature of the African continent is the frequency of violent conflict throughout the latter part of the 20th century. The Central African region has experienced some of the bloodiest conflicts in post-colonial history. One of the most important examples of such a conflict is the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC). This particular conflict has often been labelled Africa s first world war (Clark, 2002: 109 ), to illustrate its magnitude. No other conflict in the area has involved as many external interveners, ranging from neighbouring states to diverse guerrilla groups. The DRC has been troubled by conflict since 1996, and although peace agreements have been drafted and set in motion, the unrest continues. Blessed with an abundance of natural resources, the DRC is an exposed target for actors seeking to get access to revenues. Continually, extraction of natural resources has by several been used as an important factor when discussing the ongoing conflict. Furthermore it provides a fruitful addition when seeking to explain the intervention and dual interests by external actors. Gaining control of, and maintaining ones power over these resources has become extremely important for different groups within the DRC, and for external actors seeking to benefit from cooperating with these groups. The DRC became a member of SADC in 1990, and the organization has been profoundly involved in the peacemaking efforts in the conflict. Since initiation of its cooperation SADC has developed instruments, structures and policies within defence and security issues intended to improve the organizations ability to act as peace-maker within the region. Based on this, the analysis of this thesis will take shape in accordance with the following problem question: In what ways, through the existing governing bodies of Security and Defence Cooperation within the SADC framework and Treaties, has SADC been able to play a constructive role in the peace process in the DRC? I have chosen to use the theoretical contributions of New Regionalism Theory (NRT) in order to debate the role of a regional organization in a conflict illustrated by the situation in the DRC. Additionally I seek to explore how NRT in various ways can explain some of the new trends and workings of such organizations. There have been constant debates regarding how to tackle conflicts, especially within the regional processes, the particular political setting, and the special characteristics of states in Africa . In order to shed light unto the particular statehood and political environment regional organizations operate in within Africa, I have included the concepts of neo-patrimonialism and transnationalism as a prolongation of the regional theories. By adding these two concepts I seek to investigate the more informal processes, and complex relationships found to exist both within and among states and regional arenas. These informal processes are believed to co-exist with the formal regional ones (Iheduru, 2003: 52). However, occasionally these processes appear to move in contradictory directions creating difficulties for actors trying to act in a coherent sense within a framework like SADC. This leads me to add an additional question to be explored in continuance of the problem question; whether or not the informal processes taking place within the southern African region restrain the formal regional process, rather than enhance it