Imefika! My book on the recent phase of the Congolese conflict is out from @princetonupress. press.princeton.edu/books/hardcove… It asks why conflict has persisted despite a comprehensive peace deal, billions of $ of investment and the largest peacekeeping mission in the world. (THREAD) 
I hope the book is of interest to anyone interested in Congo, as well as students of conflict and peacebuilding. (2/7)
My Congo-specific argument: In 2003 a peace deal was transformational: it forged a new constitution, demobilized 130,000 soldiers, and ushered in a raft of new institutions: local and national parliaments, new courts and oversight bodies. (3/7)
However, the deal was lopsided, prompting a former belligerent (RCD) to go back to war with Rwandan backing; it created façade of institutions that elites used to share spoils rather than build a state; all of this led to a proliferation of armed groups in eastern Congo. (4/7)
Donors/diplos fed into dynamics: (1) backed Rwanda financially and diplomatically despite evidence that Kigali was fuelling conflict (2003-2013); (2) believed Kinshasa was genuinely interested in building strong state when it was more concerned with extracting resources; (5/7)
(3) pushed for liberalization of economy to encourage investment without having regulatory safeguards in place; billions were lost to foreign and local elites, undermining democracy and the creation of an accountable state. (6/7)
In other words, I place much less emphasis on "the local" (struggles over identity and land) and "conflict minerals" than others. Those are important permissive/complicating factors, but do not form the main impetus for the violence. (7/7)
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