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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has become a constitutional State in December 2005 and its political transition is now ending. Peace is still fragile in the Eastern part of the country, “State-building” is proving very difficult and good governance is still an elusive concept. Above all, the structural conditions that turned the DRC into a “failed State” did not change. Under these circumstances, the involvement of the international community in terms of security and reconstruction remains necessary. If this article insists upon what can and cannot be achieved during a political transition, it also suggests some guidelines in order to consolidate the new and fragile democracy and stabilize Central Africa and the Great Lakes region.
 

Thierry Vircoulon, alumni of the École nationale d’administration (ENA), worked in Africa for the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and for the European Commission on political transition and post-conflict management issues. He is the author of L’Afrique du Sud démocratique ou la réinvention d’une nation (Paris, L’Harmattan, 2005).