Working Paper

Drivers of Change in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The Rise and Decline of the State and Challenges For Reconstruction - A Literature Review

author(s) Putzel, J.. - Lindemann, S.. - Schouten, C.
from UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
permalink open
themes
regions
  • Middle Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Africa
  • World
citation

Working Paper No. 26 (series 2), 2008, London, UK; Crisis States Research Centre, 56 pp

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Abstract

The purpose of this literature review is to bring together key research and debates in the French and English literature on the Democratic Republic of Congo/Zaire (DRC) concerning the political economy, social structure and politics of the country, to inform the international donor community's planning efforts within the long-term trajectory of change in the DRC. The review is structured around six themes: (1) The evolution of the economy in the DRC, (2) How the state has functioned, the structure of government and how this has evolved, both formally and in practice, (3) Government/political motivation, (4) The anatomy of intra-regional power and the role of traditional patterns of authority, (5) How religious authority interacts with the contemporary state and how/why these relationships have developed on the local and national level, and (6) Popular perceptions and expectations of the state

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