This is the only available book on the Congo war, the most important current conflict in Africa. Two chapters situate the war in its historical and theoretical context, while others survey the interests of the Congolese government, of the rebel groups, and of intervening states in the war. These chapters reveal the underlying sources of the war and explain the strategies of the various combatants. Other chapters examine the impact of the war on neighboring countries, individual citizens, refugees, and other non-state actors in the zone of conflict and beyond.

Introduction-John F. Clark
Part I: The Congo War in Context
Contextualizing Congo Conflicts: Order and Disorder in Postcolonial Africa-Crawford Young
Historicity of a Crisis: The Origins of the Congo War-Jermaine O. Maccalpin
Part II: The Post-Mobutu Regimes in Congo and their Supporters
A Survival Guide to Kinshasa: Lessons of the Father, Passed Down to the Son-Kevin C. Dunn
Angola's Role in the Congo War-Thomas Turner
A Political and Military Review of Zimbabwe's Involvement in the Second Congo War-Martin R. Rupiya
Part III: The Contestants of the Kabila Regimes
Congo's Rebels: Their Origins, Motivations, and Strategies-Osita Afoaku
The Complex Reasons for Rwanda's Engagement in Congo-Timothy Longman
Museveni's Adventure in the Congo War: Uganda's Vietnam?-John F. Clark
Ambivalent States, Early Outcomes, and Non-State Phenomena
Impossible Neutrality? South Africa's Policy in the Congo War-Chris Landsberg
Arms Proliferation and the Congo War-Augusta Muchai
The Economic Impact of the Congo War-Mungbalemwe Koyame and John F. Clark
Refugees and the Congo War-Jude Murison