Human Security Centre Human Rights and International Security Research

There has been an emerging tension between liberal top-down peacebuilding and the growing belief that grassroots bottom up solutions are required alongside wider national level approaches. Intervention and peacebuilding in Africa have largely been shaped by militaristic, externally led, top-down approaches. These approaches have had varying degrees of success, with local populations often feeling alienated from peacebuilders and their externally imposed, ill-fitting intervention strategies. These interventions have historically shown a disregard for cultural context and local processes that are key to building sustainable peace during and after conflict.

For decades the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been wracked by an intractable conflict which has displaced hundreds of thousands, resulted in numerous human rights atrocities, and launched the largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission in UN history