Emerging from two major wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2002), the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of Africa s most notoriously failed states. Since President Joseph Kabila came to power in 2001, the international community has invested significantly in efforts to rebuild the Congo. State building efforts, however, have not achieved expected results. International partners and Congolese authorities share responsibility in failing to bring about genuine political change and institutional reconstruction. The former have underestimated the complexities of Congolese political culture while the latter deliberately hamper reform. Administrative weaknesses and the particular nature of public service provision in Congo constitute overwhelming obstacles to state building. After presenting the different logics that motivate state building and an overview of recent political history, the Congolese administrative reality will be discussed. Analysis will follow revealing that implementing meaningful reform under the current framework is improbable.