Whether by shuffling agency personnel, creating new agencies, or limiting their capacity for oversight, a common tactic among power-hungry leaders is establishing control over the country’s bureaucracy.
Articles on Mobutu Sese Seko
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Lubumbashi is little known, but its minerals electrified the world, created atom bombs and are key to greener energy, the defining geopolitical issue of our time.
Rwanda shapes conflict in the region by using the Congolese Tutsi to centre its claims of a continued threat of genocide.
The nationalist art of Mobutu Sese Seko and the art nouveau style of King Leopold II both live on in Kinshasa in fascinating ways.
Since the 1990s, transnational corporations have once again become the dominant force as owners and managers of major mining projects.
Laurent Kabila and his son Joseph were the Democratic Republic of Congo’s third and fourth presidents.
Armed group, mercenaries, mining, power struggles. It’s a familiar story in Africa, sadly.
Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is used to win a place in government, not to overthrow it. And it keeps working.
Rwanda believes DRC continues to provide refuge for those behind the 1994 genocide.
All that remains of the political icon is a tooth, but it represents much more than just a human trophy.
Recent clashes put eastern Congo’s M23 into the headlines again, but many other security problems persist in the area as diplomats struggle to tackle the underlying causes.
Felix Tshisekedi must come out from under former premier Joseph Kabila’s thumb.
Links between groups within the Kivu province and the Islamic state are not new.
A military confrontation between Uganda and Rwanda remains implausible. But the stand-off between the two countries is reminiscent of the worst days between them.
The intertwining of the market, state and society has continued to see itself expressed through music in the DRC.
For many of contemporary Congolese musicians the idea of authenticité was seen as a positive one at a certain level, even though Mobutu abused Congo culture to build his own personality cult.
Congolese President Joseph Kabila was due to step down last year after serving two terms. But he failed to organise elections leading to deadly protests. Is Congo’s future now in grave danger?
Ranting narcissists with no patience for detail have terrorised and suppressed their people the world over. Is a new one about to join their ranks?
Congolese singer Papa Wemba might have been one of Africa’s best loved musicians - but his politics wasn’t popular with all his compatriots.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in African History, Queen Mary University of London
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Postdoctoral Research Associate, King's College London
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Musician, Academic, Consultant, University of Edinburgh
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Lecturer in Political Science, Binghamton University, State University of New York
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Reader in International Development, University of Bath
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Adjunct assistant professor, Roskilde University
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Senior Lecturer in Visual Art, University of Johannesburg
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Emeritus Professor of Law and Politics Institute of Development Policy (IOB), University of Antwerp
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Research Director of the Insecure Livelihoods Project, Ghent University
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Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town
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Associate Professor of Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne
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Research Scientist at the School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
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Professor of Political Science, Penn State
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University
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PhD student in Music, Royal Holloway, University of London