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The United Nations’ international mission in theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has most openly targeted the goals of security, elections and civil society development. At the same time,experts agreed that the country’s main problem is its failed-state, so ‘state-building’ has been added as an overarching goal. This has resultedin a sort of ‘international paradigm’ where goals are not complementary; moreover, they often imply trade-offs, and decisions and programs for oneare likely to undermine the other. On the one hand, the internationals substituted the state in the provision of security, bypassed it in the organization of elections, and created anartificial civil society, all of which undermined state-building with interventionist policies and overall control of funds and programs. On theother hand, for the sake of respecting sovereignty during this ‘transition process’, they co-opted the state of DRC in the plans to provide security,undertake elections, and develop civil society. However, this state was, and still is, a politically-biased authority taken over by corruption and elitism, and not a neutral set of institutions. The international missionis thus trapped in a complex paradigm based on wishful thinking but facing enormous challenges in the DRC reality. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]