At Crossroads: Reflections on the Efficacy of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Conflict Resolution in Zimbabwe and the DRC

Abstract

Since its formation in 1980, The Southern African Development Community (SADC) (formerly SADCC) has been confronted with a number of conflict cases within its membership. The conflicts include, but indeed not limited to, civil wars in Angola and DRC and political instability in Lesotho, Madagascar, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Zimbabwean conflicts are contemporary yet internecine test cases a propos the competence and relevance of SADC in providing the so-called "African solutions to African problems". SADC, through its various organs has been involved in the resolution of these conflicts. Nonetheless, SADC has found itself in intricate circumstances and perceptibly unsatisfactory principally as it dealt with Zimbabwe and the DRC. The paper traces the development of conflict in the DRC and Zimbabwe. It traces the historical performance of the SADC in conflict resolution in southern Africa. It is the aim of the paper to assess SADC performance in conflict resolution in the region, particularly in Zimbabwe and the DRC.