An Appraisal of the Liberal Peace Model in Conflict-prone Africa: A Study of Democratic Republic of Congo
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Date
2023
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Department of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Faculty of Social Science, National Open University of Nigeria
Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War, the international community spearheaded by the United Nations Organisation (UN) has been involved in conflict zones by ways of helping conflict-torn states to sign ceasefire agreements with rebel groups, monitoring power-sharing transitions and funding general elections. Renowned scholars have decried this one-size-fits-all approach as an attempt to transplant the liberal peace on hostile grounds beyond the Western world. Central to the paper is the question as to why this peace theory that explains the peaceful relationships among Western democracies has become a cure for dysfunctional and violent states in Africa. Using the Democratic Republic of Congo as a typical case study of Western engineering for more than two decades, the paper adopts the literature review approach in gathering secondary data and reopens the debate on the merits of the liberal peace model in conflict zones. The study unveils the misreading of Kant’s theory of peace with its attendant divide (in theory) between the West and the rest. It proposes as alternative, the human peace model to advance the common good, irrespective of culture, religion and nationality. Such a bottom-up model is apparent in selfless actions that are in the reach of every individual by virtue of God’s given talents.
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Keywords
Africa, Conflict, Liberal Peace, Intervention, Congo
Citation
Dr J.M.K. Mbonbo is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. His research interests include Liberal Peacebuilding, Conflict Management in Africa, United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals