Too many mediators, too little peace: Overlapping interventions undermining sustainable peace efforts in the democratic Republic of Congo

Since the Second Congo War outbreak in 1998, regional and international mediation efforts have struggled to deliver sustainable peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Plentiful literature attributes this failure to flawed peace agreements that sidestep conflict root causes and lack of credible enforcement mechanisms. However, this article argues that, beyond conflict root causes and the content of peace agreements, the proliferation of multimediation interventions has created overlapping and fragmented processes that undermine the coherence and effectiveness of peace initiatives in the DRC. These overlapping mediation interventions are further complicated by competing mediator interests and strategic coordination blunders.