Hawks, doves or penguins? A critical review of the SADC military intervention in the DRC

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the impact of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on sub-regional cohesion and the challenges facing future stability efforts.

• The SADC military intervention in the DRC sparked debate over whether the action was officially sanctioned by the organization or driven by the agendas of specific militaristic states, leading to perceptions that sub-regional cohesion was compromised, with Zimbabwe and South Africa leading opposing factions.
• The author contends that the reported major rifts within the sub-region were largely mythical and that SADC demonstrated a level of maturity by resolving disagreements over conflict approaches.
• Future interventions by the sub-region may be necessary as the situation in the DRC deteriorates due to a lack of agreement among stakeholders on an acceptable government and difficulties faced by the United Nations. Additionally, the intervention resulted in continued pressure from the international community, specifically from Britain and the United States of America.

APA

Ngoma, N. (n.d.). Hawks, doves or penguins? A critical review of the SADC military intervention in the DRC. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/hawks-doves-or-penguins-a-critical-review-of-the-sadc-military-intervention-in-the-drc

Chicago

Ngoma, Naison. Hawks, doves or penguins? A critical review of the SADC military intervention in the DRC. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/hawks-doves-or-penguins-a-critical-review-of-the-sadc-military-intervention-in-the-drc.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ngoma |first1=Naison |title=Hawks, doves or penguins? A critical review of the SADC military intervention in the DRC |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/papers/hawks-doves-or-penguins-a-critical-review-of-the-sadc-military-intervention-in-the-drc |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ngomandhawks, author = {Ngoma, Naison}, title = {{Hawks, doves or penguins? A critical review of the SADC military intervention in the DRC}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/papers/hawks-doves-or-penguins-a-critical-review-of-the-sadc-military-intervention-in-the-drc}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }