A further look at rebel-to-party transformation in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The case of the CNDP

ABSTRACT Since the mid-1990s, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has witnessed several instances of armed conflict, the resolution of which has entailed efforts to bring about the political transformation of rebel movements behind those insurgencies. This article analyses the failed transformation of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple, CNDP), the rebel group behind the Third Congo War (2006-2009). It is argued that this failure was the result of a set of factors, namely the controversial mixage policy agreed upon between government and the CNDP in the 2009 Goma Peace Agreement, the group's nature as a militarily-focused and ethnically-centred organisation, and the continued support of the CNDP by its regional backers well after the signing of the Goma Peace Agreement as well as the United Nations’ decision to withdraw its support for the Goma peace process.