Introduction
This paper, drawing on field research, explores the challenges of pursu-ing peace, democracy and justice in conflict and post-conflict societies, using the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) as a case study. In early 2006, three key developments precipitated my fieldwork in the DRC: rapidly changing patterns of violence in the Great Lakes region, the buildup to the DRC's his-toric first elections since independence, and new attempts to bring perpetrators of mass crimes to justice.