A solution to Congo's troubles is possible with a reimagined approach. The West could start by making development and order its first priority in the Congolese territory, rather than focusing on the promotion of the Congolese state. This simple distinction immediately casts the Congolese problem in a whole new light. It would mean, for instance, that foreign goverments and aid agencies would deal with whomever exerted control on the ground rather than continuing to pretend that Kinshasa is ruling and running the country. Such an approach might bring into the picture a confusing array of governors, traditional leaders, warlords, and others rather than the usual panoply of ministers. But that would finally be a reflection of who is actually running Congo.
Sounds like a pilot program for the Lexington Rule I proposed.
Actually, it goes beyond it by working with de facto authorities who control portions of a country's territory and run their corner of the map reasonably well despite nominal legal control by a non-functioning central government (hello Russian and Chinese vetoes, so it would have to be done outside the UN).
If we can't admit Congro is broken beyond repair, we're beyond hope in crafting a post-Westphalian solution to the lack of state sovereignty that gives us so many problems these days.
