Les limites au soutien des interventions dans le secteur de la sécurité en RDC

The report analyzes the failure of international interventions in the DRC's security sector between 2003 and 2013. It argues that the 'technocratic interpretation' of violence as a lack of state capacity ignored the neo-patrimonial nature of the Congolese state, where elites benefit from a fragmented and divided military (FARDC). While the 2013 defeat of the M23 rebellion provided a temporary success and a window for reform, the authors warn that the underlying political incentives for maintaining a weak, divided army remain strong. The report critiques the 'train and equip' model of SSR and the early phases of the International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy (ISSSS), suggesting that future efforts must move beyond technical fixes to address local community grievances and the opaque power structures in Kinshasa.

• International efforts to reform the security sector (SSR) and stabilize the 'militia belt' in eastern DRC have had limited impact because they adopted a technical approach that ignored the broader political context.
• The Congolese state and society operate on a neo-patrimonial system where political, military, and economic elites use state positions to feed personal networks and generate income, leading to a fragmented and privatized state apparatus.
• The FARDC is structurally divided due to a history of unlimited integration of various armed groups, which allows elites to maintain control by preventing the army from becoming a unified, professional organization with a single chain of command.
• Local communities in eastern DRC do not simply view the state as a provider of security; they often perceive FARDC soldiers as thieves and may collaborate with armed groups based on pragmatic survival needs and local interests.
• The first phase of the International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy (ISSSS) between 2008 and 2012 achieved technical successes—such as 1,700 km of road repair and 90 public buildings—but failed politically because it ignored local community grievances and lacked disciplinary oversight.
• The 2013 defeat of the M23 rebellion was a significant military success enabled by the MONUSCO's Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) and a lack of Rwandan support for the rebels, but it may have reduced the political pressure on the government to implement meaningful SSR.
• The Congolese government's defense reform plan is criticized as a 'shopping list' for military equipment worth $686 million that fails to address internal control, military justice, or command structures.
• International donors are divided into three camps: 'multilaterals' (e.g., UK, Sweden, Netherlands) working through UN frameworks, 'bilaterals' (e.g., USA, EU, France, Belgium) providing direct technical support, and countries like China and Russia that avoid peacebuilding discussions.

APA

Kets, E., & de Vries, H. (2014). Les limites au soutien des interventions dans le secteur de la sécurité en RDC. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper257_FR.pdf

Chicago

Kets, Evert, and Hugo de Vries. Les limites au soutien des interventions dans le secteur de la sécurité en RDC. Institute for Security Studies, 2014. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper257_FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kets |first1=Evert |last2=de Vries |first2=Hugo |title=Les limites au soutien des interventions dans le secteur de la sécurité en RDC |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=July 2014 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper257_FR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kets2014les, author = {Kets, Evert and de Vries, Hugo}, title = {{Les limites au soutien des interventions dans le secteur de la sécurité en RDC}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2014}, month = jul, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper257_FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }