Failure of governance and crisis of nation building

Nzongola-Ntalaja, GeorgesGeorges Nzongola-Ntalaja is Professor of African and Global Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA). He is the author of numerous publications, including The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History (Zed Books, 2002), winner of the Prize for the best book on Africa from the African Politics Conference Group in 2004.

This book presents a general overview of the political history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from its creation in 1885 as a private property of King Leopold II of the Belgians to the present day. Its main purpose is to show that despite its immense wealth in natural and human resources, this country is still one of the poorest in the world. This situation is largely due to the failure of governance since the Leopoldian regime, on the one hand, and the crisis of national construction since independence, on the other. The external greed for its natural resources and the determination of the powers of the world to prevent the DRC from becoming a regional power have condemned the country to the looting of its resources by these powers with the collaboration of a mediocre political class and without patriotic commitment. for the good of the common Congolese. It is in the face of a societal and political crisis caused by poor governance and the absence of a State capable of securing the population and ensuring a decent life that the people continue their multiple and largely peaceful struggles for democracy and sovereignty. national.