ABSTRACT
Since 2002 the EU and several European states, in cooperation with the UN and other international actors, have worked to build a functioning state in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). During the high watermark of European imperial rule in Africa, the Congo was the personal property of the Belgian King Leopold II. The legacy of violence and foreign domination marked Congolese society and politics throughout the twentieth century and continues to create problems for Europeans seeking to foster the political and economic development of the country. When Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960, the situation only marginally improved. But Rwanda and Uganda soon broke ranks, and their proxies began fighting over access to the Congo's valuable natural resources. Building democracy in the DRC was thus necessary, but besides the substantial logistical obstacles to holding elections in an underdeveloped country of this size, the Congolese also had no prior experience with liberal democracy or even self-governing constitutional rule.
