Operações de estabilização e prolongamento dos conflitos armados: estudo de caso do retorno do M23 na República Democrática do Congo

In this article we discuss the limits of stabilisation for building long-term peace in United Nations peacekeeping operations. We argue that the political strategy of stabilization, being based on the robust use of force to combat armed groups and support governments in restoring state authority, ends up losing sight of efforts to resolve armed conflicts, which ultimately contributes to the prolongation of violence. Methodologically, the article studies the case of combating the armed group M23 by MONUSCO in the DRC, through the analysis of data and documents that allow us to examine two main aspects: (i) the levels of armed violence; and (ii) the implementation of a political process of conflict resolution.