The DR of the Congo
An Ongoing Conflict
The Conflict in the Congo
A ongoing conflict over the rich resources in the Congo involves foreign armies from Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Nambia, Sudan, and many more. They all want to achieve an increase on their own capital and resources. The Congo is a multinational state that meets all the requirements to be a state (social engineering, transportation, public services, sovereignty, and external recognition) and is also filled with many different ethnicity's.
Where is the Congo?
The Congo's Shape and Boundries
The DR of the Congo is a compact state, it's in a land lock, and The Congo is surrounded by countries that need their resources. The conflict is labeled as a resource boundary dispute. The Congo's boundaries are physically defined by rivers and currently there is not much of a discussion of on changing the boundary.
Forces That Bring Together and Pull Apart
Centripital
- Safety in numbers; The women and children feel safer in large groups, for example, refugee camps.
- UN; the UN made refugee camps that brought people together and protected them from the violence.
- Common Enemy; The Congolese that are fighting all stick together because of there common enemy (foreign armies).
Centrifugal
- Foreign Armies; the armies coming from other countries tear families apart and terrorize the Congolese.
- Income Gap; The difference between the rich and the poor made conflicts between the Congolese more complicated.
- Multiple Armies; Because The Congo is so big and the there were so many different troops it made it hard to communicate back and forth. Some armies turned their back against their country.
Outside Forces
Foreign armies were involved and caused the conflict. They were fighting for The Congo's resources.
The UN was involved in the country since 1999. They came into the war for peace keeping operations. The had 20,000 people on the ground protecting civilians and helping reconstruct the country.Dylan's Opinion
"I think that the main challenge of the conflict involve the poverty that is happening in the other counties around the Congo. The poverty is a big issue and that's something that is really hard to be resolved. I understand why the countries would go into the Congo for resources. The outcome of this conflict seems far from now, poverty isn't something most people can overcome in a day. I don't think that the resolution of the conflict will be peaceful unless the UN is highly involved."
Melissa's Opinion
"I think the main challenge of this conflict is the fact that there are so many counties involved. It will be difficult to make everyone happy unless they evenly distribute the resources. The outcome of this conflict is far out into the future I think. There's a lot to consider when trying to resolve this conflict. In the not everyone will be happy."