Relationships between Political Development and Intervention

Abstract

Abstract : The Democratic Republic of the Congo received its independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960. The Congo's political development from the 1700s to 1960 resulted in a democratically elected Congolese administration that at the time of independence was unable to operate the national government or the economy. Congolese administrations relied upon foreign political support to retain power. They used private international companies to fulfill many security and economic functions. They manipulated ethnic differences within their populations to maintain control, and they used the state's resources to increase their own personal wealth and power at the expense of the Congo's larger social well being. These governing practices have both helped and thwarted international interventions into the Congo since 1960. Between 1960 and 2005, the United Nations, the international community, and various African states launched interventions into the Congo. Interventions into the Congo between 1960 and 2005 illustrate a number of characteristics of foreign interventions into failing states. First, the root causes of instability that necessitate an intervention are oftentimes rooted in the host country's political development. The governing practices of successive Congolese governments undermined the country's stability and necessitated international intervention. Secondly, competing national interests of the intervening entities can stand in the way of making meaningful reforms to the host nation's government. Thirdly, steps to bring about stability in a failing country can take place despite the international intervention as opposed to because of it. The 1999 United Nations intervention coincided with several political, social, and military decisions that culminated in a transitional government of national unity.