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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The DRC and Lesotho crises: some lessons for the SADC |
Author: | Kadima, Denis |
Year: | 1999 |
Periodical: | Lesotho Social Sciences Review (ISSN 1028-0790) |
Volume: | 5 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 65-82 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs. |
Geographic terms: | Lesotho Congo (Democratic Republic of) Southern Africa |
Subjects: | military intervention politics Political crisis Conflict management Southern African Development Community |
Abstract: | The military intervention of SADC troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Lesotho has aroused curiosity and confusion among the region's political observers because of the lack of a clear definition of the role of the postapartheid SADC and the lack of clarity over the conditions and mechanisms of military intervention of South Africa and Botswana in Lesotho, on the one hand, and Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia in the DRC, on the other hand. This paper looks at these violent conflicts from the perspective of the internal actors, both armed and unarmed, given that lasting stability in these countries depends essentially on the commitment of these internal actors to end or to continue the hostilities. It shows that the roots and nature of the conflicts were different: whereas the Lesotho crisis occurred in the context of a dysfunctional and exclusionist electoral sysem, the roots of the DRC conflict are to be found in the undemocratic nature of its incumbent regime, as well as the absence of a legitimate and inclusive constitutional framework. It is crucial for regional leaders to make sure that conflicts are not fabricated by politicians to advance their quest for power before they decide on a military intervention. Bibliogr., sum. |