Berkley Center

Ferdinand Muhigirwa, S.J., examined the political and social landscape in the run-up to the 2006 presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as ongoing controversy surrounding the role of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country, the reform of the national military, and the regulation of Christian sects. Central Africa, politically stable since the Rwandan genocide, is grappling with an ongoing process of democratization. The Democratic Republic of the Congo's new constitution, enacted earlier that year, marks a reorganization of state power in the face of salient policy challenges including human rights, the roles of civil society and churches, gender issues, and corruption.