Democratic Republic of the Congo : Background Case Study
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been described by one senior African diplomat at the United Nations as a 'state in the making; it is not yet a state.' Further, this 'state in the making' also is a state that, with...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/642841468247291959/Congo-Democratic-Republic-of-Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27324 |
| Summary: | The Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) has been described by one senior African diplomat at
the United Nations as a 'state in the making; it is not
yet a state.' Further, this 'state in the
making' also is a state that, with few exceptions, has
been in decline since the early 1970s. The colonial era,
from 1885 until 1958, was a period of nearly uninterrupted
state construction; the hegemony of the Belgian colonial
apparatus steadily deepened. In its final two years, the
colonial edifice progressively lost control over civil
society to a tumultuous and fragmented nationalist movement,
which was unable to capture intact the colonial
infrastructure. The result was five years of turbulent state
deflation, generally known as the 'Congo crisis.'
The Mobutu coup of 1965 inaugurated a new cycle, with eight
years in which a rising tide of state ascendancy seemed to
dominate the political process. After 1974 currents of
decline again began to flow strongly, progressively eroding
the superstructure of hegemony. The actual purpose of the
Zairian government under Mobutu was not to fulfill basic
state functions; rather, the government existed as a
structure for individual enrichment and patronage. Officials
at the highest levels stole large amounts of money, usually
from mineral or customs revenues, sometimes through
extremely straightforward strategies, such as literally
pocketing gem diamonds and having them sold for personal
gain in Antwerp or elsewhere. |
|---|