The Fragile States Index shows that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR) rank fifth and sixth, respectively, from the bottom of the scale. Although such metrics matter, they do not fully capture the relationships between power and territory, or authority and population, in what we call “failed states.” In Roadblock Politics, Schouten provides an alternative account based on local control of bottlenecks along supply chains that circulate locally and extend regionally, even globally. As such, this book flips the conventional narrative of state power to show how the “politics of passage” has often been a way to resist centralized political authority.This story comes alive in the book’s substantive chapters, divided into two parts. Part I (Chapters 2–4) anchors the “prehistory of the roadblock” in nineteenth-century “hongo polities” where local rulers levied tariffs on long-distance caravans of European ivory traffickers. The emergent colonial state, driven by the transport revolution, geopolitics, and profit, then appropriated these supply chains through the imposition of a surprisingly robust “infrastructural empire” (roads, railways, etc.). These logistical investments decayed almost immediately after independence; control over key choke points then reverted to local state agents, neighboring armies and their proxies, and self-defense militias.Part II’s five chapters (5–9) tackle what has since become the pattern of roadblock politics, in which “rules of the road” now pattern logistical space depending on the operator and the type of route. Although these routes might crisscross conflict zones, they still connect to global supply chains that reward multinationals (like Heineken) and roadblock operators alike. In the CAR, such dynamics feed the political economy of violence between rebel factions, militias, and state agents vying for control over the country’s few trade arteries. The kaleidoscope of armed groups in the DRC adapts to resource scarcity and competition by employing “non-conventional logistics,” erecting highly portable roadblocks in difficult terrain to tax bare essentials such as cassava and charcoal.From a policy perspective, the preoccupation with “conflict minerals” in central Africa has limited the realization that operators need not control mines to profit but merely the roadblocks along global supply chains of artisanal minerals, which can promote violent competition.The standout strength of this book is the sheer creativity of the idea that drives it, helped along by Schouten’s highly accessible writing style that refreshingly brings out his enthusiasm for the subject matter. The central argument is buttressed by thoughtful use of primary and secondary sources, but the book’s original idea was born in the field, thus providing it with colorful, granular anecdotes and lending it an authenticity and street credibility that is in short supply.A work even of such historical depth cannot capture everything; this one suffers from two missed opportunities. First, because this is a story of the longue durée, it could sit comfortably within the methodological approach of comparative historical analysis. Schouten might have integrated the language of critical junctures and path dependency into a theory of roadblock politics, as they are essentially distributional conflicts that play out over time between different entities seeking to overcome power asymmetries. Second, he might have integrated the notion of roadblock politics more explicitly into how scholars study armed conflicts in countries like the DRC and the CAR—that is, as symmetrical and irregular warfare in which armed groups participate on an equal footing with state actors, historically common in Africa. Unlike symmetrical irregular warfare, which has no frontlines and where rebels operate in the shadows, however, roadblocks in such conflicts serve as explicit markers of territorial control by armed groups of varying ambitions.These mild critiques do not take away from the key contributions of Roadblock Politics. The book increases our understanding of how states project authority over territory and people, and of the relationship between circulation and political order. Indeed, from the caravans of colonial ivory traders to the Toyota Land Cruisers of international contractors, roadblock politics have been persistent features of local order in the DRC and the CAR, two states consistently characterized as “failed,” where shakedowns at checkpoints are perennially derided as blackmail or extortion. Beyond these standard accounts, Schouten portrays roadblocks, which occur roughly every 18 km in the DRC and every 24 km in the CAR, as rational local responses to processes of state expansion and contraction. Control over circulation generates alternative forms of power for a range of savvy actors, guaranteeing the persistence of states rather than their demise.
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Feb 2, 2023
Alexsandros Cavgias + 2
Open Access