Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

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Date of Award

1-1-2026

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Analysis and Resolution

First Advisor

Lee Shazier

Keywords

community perceptions; Democratic Republic of Congo; Eastern Congo (Bukavu and Goma); faith-based mediation; Moral authority; Religious leaders

Abstract

This phenomenological study explored how communities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo perceive the roles of religious leaders, particularly the Catholic Church, in peace and conflict from 1996 to 2025. Despite vast natural wealth, the eastern DRC has endured nearly three decades of violence driven by political, economic, and social grievances. While international mediation often failed, religious leaders emerged as trusted moral authorities in peacebuilding. Guided by Azar’s protracted social conflict theory, Burton’s human needs theory, and Korostelina’s social identity framework, the study examined how people viewed the Church’s interventions compared with those of the government, regional, and international actors. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, data was gathered through interviews with eleven participants in Bukavu and Goma who personally experienced the conflicts. Participants described the Catholic Church as a credible mediator capable of convening dialogue when political and international efforts collapsed. However, they noted limits caused by corruption, political manipulation, and an entrenched “war economy.” The study proposes the conflict monetization theory, which explains how prolonged conflict becomes self-sustaining through profit networks that make peace a threat to gain. It also introduces profit-sensitive ripeness, whereby peace is possible only after financial incentives for war are disrupted.

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