PAROLES DE GUERRE ET DIPLOMATIE SUR LES ONDES : LA COMMUNICATION AU CŒUR DU CONFLIT RWANDO-CONGOLAIS

Abstract

This article examines the Rwandan-Congolese conflict through the lens of foreign policy communication, understood as a strategic instrument of power rather than a mere diplomatic accessory. In an international environment dominated by media and digital platforms, warfare no longer unfolds solely on military fronts but increasingly takes the form of a battle of narratives, images, and perceptions. Drawing on a combined framework of diplomatic discourse semiotics, public diplomacy, and game theory, this study argues that every statement, silence, and visual representation functions as a calculated move within a strategic game of information and influence between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.

The analysis highlights a significant communicational asymmetry between the two states. Rwanda’s centralized, proactive, and internationally oriented communication strategy enables it to impose a favorable narrative, while the DRC remains largely reactive, fragmented, and defensive, struggling to assert its narrative sovereignty. The article further demonstrates how international media and social networks contribute to shaping legitimacy, normalizing violence, and manipulating public emotions within the global information space.

Ultimately, this research contends that communication has become a decisive immaterial battlefield in contemporary international relations. It calls for a strategic rethinking of the DRC’s foreign policy communication as a project of narrative and cognitive sovereignty, essential for reshaping diplomatic power dynamics in the Great Lakes region.