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Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has changed dramatically over the past 150 years. This article traces these transformations, relating them to shifts in social and political structures, as well as in norms and ideologies. In contrast with the repression of the colonial and early Mobutu period, the state has more recently evolved symbiotically with armed groups as political elites and military officers have developed vested interests in conflict. Compared with previous episodes of large-scale violence, none of which lasted for more than several years, the current conflict has lasted for over two decades, deeply reshaping society. More recently, armed mobilization has become politically expedient for some, and the lesser of evils for others, transforming armed mobilization into an end in itself.