Reshaping Congolese Statehood In The Midst Of Crisis And Transition

Abstract

This chapter proposes an explanation for the gradual commodification of Congolese sovereignty among different forms of cooperation and conflict, produced by a variety of types of institutions and agents. It gives an introduction to the emergence of authoritarianism and its gradual collapse under President Desire Mobutu, who for a long time succeeded in imposing his dictatorial over Congo's fragmented society. The chapter discusses the period of regionalized civil war in Africa's Great Lakes region, which started with the conquest of Congo's capital Kinshasa by Laurent-Desire Kabila, and ended with the signing of a ceasefire agreement between different antagonist strongmen. It also discusses the various transformations that occurred to Congo's political constellations during the war. The chapter explains how these transformations increasingly collided with the international project of transition introduced as the main resolution strategy towards the ongoing Congolese conflict. Keywords: Africa's Great Lakes region; Congolese sovereignty; Kinshasa; Laurent-Desire Kabila