Synopses & Reviews
As this book shows, the People of the Congo have suffered throughout the past century from a particularly brutal experience of colonial rule, and a series of post-independence political conflicts. But as this insightful political history of the Congolese democratic movement of the 20th century decisively makes clear, its people have not taken these multiple oppressions lying down. Instead, they have struggled both to establish democratic institutions at home and to free themselves from exploitations abroad.
Review
"Authoritative books in English on the Congo are scarce, so this work by a leading Congolese academic is welcome."--Gail M. Gerhart, Foreign Affairs 3-4/01/03
"Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is one among those very few intellectuals who possesses the background, the knowledge, the commitment and the vantage point from which to assess the historical possibilities for contemporary Congo." --Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University
"This book could not be more timely. It throws new light on the past struggle for democracy in the Congo while indicating possible directions for the future." --Mbaya Kankwenda, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria
Synopsis
The people of the Congo, as this book shows, have suffered cruelly throughout the past century from a particularly brutal experience of colonial rule; and, following independence in 1960, external interference by the United States and other powers, a whole generation of patrimonial spoliation at the hands of Mobutu (the dictator installed by the West in 1965), and periodic warfare which even now continues fitfully in the East of the country. But, as this insightful political history of the Congolese democratic movement in the 20th century decisively makes clear, its people have not taken these multiple oppressions lying down. Instead, the Congolese people have struggled over the years to improve their conditions of life by trying both to establish democratic institutions at home and to free themselves from exploitation from abroad; indeed these cannot be separated one from the other.
The author of this book, Professor Nzongola-Ntalaja, is one of the country's leading intellectuals. Despite being forced into long years of exile (during which he taught political science in the United States and elsewhere), he has played a part at significant moments in his country's political struggle. His deep knowledge of personalities and events, and his understanding of the underlying class, ethnic and other factors at work, make his book a compelling, lucid, radical and utterly unromanticized account of his countrymen's struggle. In acknowledging their defeat, he sees it and the crisis of the post-colonial state as the result of the breakdown of the anti-colonial alliance between the masses and the national leadership after independence.
This book is essential reading for understanding what is happening in the Congo and the Great Lakes region. It will also stand as a milestone in how to write the modern political history of Africa."
Synopsis
The people of the Congo have suffered from a particularly brutal colonial rule, American interference after independence, decades of robbery at the hands of the dictator Mobutu and periodic warfare which continues even now in the East of the country. But, as this insightful political history makes clear, the Congolese people have not taken these multiple oppressions lying down and have fought over many years to establish democratic institutions at home and free themselves from foreign exploitation; indeed these are two aspects of a single project.
Professor Nzongola-Ntalaja is one of his country's leading intellectuals and his panoramic understanding of the personalities and events, as well as class, ethnic and other factors, make his book a lucid, radical and utterly unromanticized account of his countrymen's struggle. His people's defeat and the state's post-colonial crisis are seen as resulting from a post-independence collapse of the anti-colonial alliance between the masses and the national leadership .
This book is essential reading for understanding what is happening in the Congo and the Great Lakes region under the rule of the late President Kabila, and now his son. It will also stand as a milestone in how to write the modern political history of Africa.
About the Author
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is a renowned scholar of African politics and an international consultant specializing in public policy, governance, and conflict-related issues.
Table of Contents
Introduction * Imperialism, Belgian Colonialism, and African Resistance * The Struggle for Independence * The First Congo Crisis * The Second Independence Movement * The Mobutu Regime: Dictatorship and State Decay * The Struggle for Multiparty Democracy * Conflict in the Great Lakes Region
Introduction * Imperialism, Belgian Colonialism, and African Resistance * The Struggle for Independence * The First Congo Crisis * The Second Independence Movement * The Mobutu Regime: Dictatorship and State Decay * The Struggle for Multiparty Democracy * Conflict in the Great Lakes Region