From Kleptocracy to Failed State:

Decolonization, Dictatorship and Civil War in the Congo,

1959-2006

 

Mobuto Sese Seko,

1965-1996

Laurent Kabila,

1997-2001

Child Soldier in Congo Civil War, c.1998

 

á     What was the nature of Belgian colonialism in the Congo?

á     Why did decolonization in the Congo fail to produce a democratic state?

á     What were the origins and nature of the Congo Civil Wars of 1994-1996 and 1998-2003(09)?

 

Key Terms

1) King LeopoldÕs Congo Colony

2) Force Publique

3) Patrice Lumumba

4) Mobuto Sese Seko

5) Kleptocracy

6) Second Congo War (1998-2003/present)

7) ÒFailed StateÓ

 

I. The Belgians in Congo, 1885-1960

 

á     The ÒScramble for AfricaÓ and the Berlin Conference (1885)

 

á     King Leopold IIÕs Colony:  Rubber, Slavery, and Genocide

o  Force Publique (2)

 

á     The Congo vs. India:  Two Models of Colonialism

 

á     Toward Independence, 1955-1960  (Decolonization in Africa)

 

 

II.  Post-Colonial Hopes, Political Instability, and Dictatorship, 1960-1990

 

June, 1960            Congo achieves independence from Belgium

                             Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Kasavubu

Ethnic/Tribal Map of Congo

 

July 1960             Army Mutinees against Lumumba;

Region of Kantanga Succeeds under Moise Tschombe

 

Feb.  1961            Lumumba Executed (NPR Report); US Role

Kasavubu becomes President

 

1961-1965           Kasavubu vs. Tschombe in Katanga

UN involvement in Civil War

 

Nov 1965             Mobutu seizes power, proclaims himself president

                     

1971                     Mobutu changes CongoÕs name to Zaire

 

Mobutu Sese Seko  (2): ÒFather of the NationÓ

 

Meeting the Somoza StandardÓ: Cold War Politics  (2)             

 

MobutuÕs ÒKlepotocracyÓ

 

 

III. MobutoÕs End and The Congo Wars: A Classic ÒFailed StateÓ

 

1990                     Africa after 1990:  Democratization and its Limits

Mobutu ends ban on political parties; opposition grows

 

1994                     Hutus from Rwanda flood Eastern Zaire;

Tutsis rebel against Mobutu

 

1995-96               Mobutu slowly loses control

Tutsi and Banyamulenge Minority, led by Laurent

Kabila, move on Kinshasha

 

1996-1997           First Congo War

                             Map of the Congo Wars

 

May 1997             Mobutu Flees, Kabila becomes President; cracks down on opposition

 

June 1998             Tutsis, supported by Rwanda, rebel in Eastern Zaire

Second Congo War begins (1998-2003)

 

AfricaÕs Biggest War and CongoÕs Second Holocaust

c. 3.8 million deaths

 

Child Soldiers and International Law (NPR Report)

 

The Bloody Road to Peace, 2003-2006

 

Dec. 2002            Fragile Peace ends fighting between major state combatants; militias continue to terrorize the population

 

2003-2005           Ethnic/militia violence continues, death toll climbs

 

Feb 2005              Congo Adopts New Constitution

 

July 2006             First Free Elections Held

 

Oct. 29, 2006       Run-Off Elections Held (NPR Report)

                             Joseph Kabila President (2006-present)

 

Violence Continues: Rebellion in East and North Congo

                               Rape as a Weapon of War