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"This paper examines the Congo-Kinshasa war, which started in 1996. The first part of the paper outlines the broad historical processes that together explain how the country came to be caught up in wars with both civil and regional dimensions: the "de-institutionalization" and "informalization" of the Zairian State leading to the gradual dismantling of the country; the subordination and exclusion of whole ethnic groups in the country itself and in neighboring countries of the Great Lakes region; and the profound changes in the relationship of the world powers with Africa since the 1980s. The second part looks at how these wars have influenced the processes of social and political change. It also proposes a brief critical examination of some widely accepted approaches to the problem of wars in Africa that call for an alternative approach to profit, power, and protection."