As a key mediator in the ongoing conflict in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United States has brokered peace agreements backed by security guarantees and by the investment potential of the country’s vast mineral wealth.

However, critics warn this “minerals for peace” approach risks overlooking unresolved issues – from the protection of minority rights to the limited role of the African Union, and fragile state-society relations in the DRC.

In this episode, Christian-Géraud Neema and Joshua Walker join the Africa Programme’s Romane Dideberg and Lisa Musumba to discuss how the short and long-term implications of the DRC’s pivot to the US is affecting its strategic autonomy, mining sovereignty, and what it means for President Tshisekedi’s political options.