Mobutus Rule example essay topic

Before the period of colonial conquest, which officially began with the drafting of the Treaty of Berlin in 1885, the country was organized into different kingdoms: the Balkans, Ba luba, and Balun da empires, the Kongo Kingdom, and many other groups and societies. The period of colonial conquest began during the 19th century when King Leopold II of Belgium acquired the Congo Basin under the Treaty of Berlin. He was recognized by the European powers as the sovereign of the Independent State of Congo. By the mid-1890's Leopold established control in most areas and aggressively pursued development plans for the exploitation of natural resources. Lacking sufficient funds to continue development, Leopold requested loans from the Belgian Parliament, which annexed the Congo in 1908, making it the Belgian Congo.

Although such atrocities were committed during Leopold reign, the Congo was still dependent upon European dominance. The colonial administration gave no significant roles in the government to Africans. Economic expansion from the sale of strategic mineral resources during World War I and II and the Korean War led to a general transformation of Congolese society. In spite of an increased society, active participation in the colonial political system by Africans did not occur until 1957. This decentralization and regionalization of the Belgian colonial structure created an ethnically divided and politically silent African elite. Unlike many Africans under British and French rule, the Congolese lacked a national ideology.

The ethnic association of the Kongo people was the basis for the formation of one of the first African political parties. It was not until the 1958 when the Movement National Congolese formed and began to work towards independence. Fast-growing political unrest led t independence on June 30, 1960. Under Joseph Kasavubu as president and Patrice Lumumba as prime minister, turmoil wracked the post-independence government as they struggled for control. The lack of central authority provoked the disunity that existed throughout the country, as regional warlords compete with the official government for control of the country. In an attempt to gain foreign economic and military support to hold the country together, Prime Minister Lumumba turned to the United States and the powers of Western Europe, but his overtures were rejected.

Lumumba then turned to the Soviet Union. Eager to gain a foothold in Central Africa, the Soviet Union supplied military and economic aid to Lumumba, in which he in turn used to attempt to put down revolts throughout the country. Wary of Lumumbas growing authority, President Kasavubu appealed to the United States and Belgium for support against Lumumba, charging that the prime minister was turning the Congo over to the Soviet Union. As the two leaders fought for power, ethnic tension spread throughout the country and a secessionist movement evolved in Lubumbashi, the capital of the southeastern province of Shab a. Less than four months after gaining independence, the Congo began to slip onto a state of anarchy. Into this fray stepped army chief of staff Col. Joseph Mobutu, who seized control in 1960 with the firm backing of the army.

Mobutu ousted Kasavubu and Lumumba, and ordered the expulsion of all Soviets from the Congo. In doing so, Mobutu won the favor of many Western governments. More praise followed in 1961, when Mobutu, having reestablished order in the government, returned Kasavubu to power. In January of 1961, the outcast Lumumba was assassinated. Supporters of Lumumba fled to the southeastern part of the country and initiated an insurgency against the Congolese government. No leader emerged to take the place of Lumumba, however, and the Marxist movement became widely factious.

While many guerrillas continued to struggle under the banner of Lumumbas primarily Nationalist philosophy, others embraced a more radical Marxist path. By 1965, as rebellions continued to arise in the southern and southeastern parts of the country, power struggles once again erupted between Kasavubu and his advisors. Joseph Mobutu, who had stayed in the shadows during four years, emphasized the history of political instability in the Congo and he employed the threat of Soviet influence in the Congo to win strong financial and military backing form the United States. Backed with western money and arms, Mobutu attempted to crush the guerrilla movements in the east and south. Despite those efforts, however, these guerrilla movements remained a lingering threat to Mobutus government. While initiating economic and monetary reforms, Mobutu consolidated his power by establishing a presidential system with a strong centralized government.

In 1971 Mobutu designed a series of measures to erase the vestiges of colonial rule and establish a new sense of nationalism within the country. Part of the authenticity campaign involved the renaming of streets and cities. Mobutu renamed the country itself, leaving the title of the Congo, a remnant of Belgian rule, to the Republic of Zaire. Along with the cultural changes instituted by Mobutu during the authenticity campaign, he also reconstructed many facets of Zairian economic and social life and proceeded to nationalize key industries.

African folk myths and legends were employed by the state to legitimize Mobutus rule. When support could not be won with manufactured myths, force was used to institute a reign of terror in Zaire, turning the country into an autocratic state with Mobutu at the helm. The renewal of antigovernment rebellions in 1978 prompted Mobutu to turn once again to the United States for military and financial support. Fear of Marxist revolution in Zaire, of of another Zaire an overture to the communist bloc, prompted to renew aid to Mobutus government. Throughout the 1980's, this same concern over the possible spread of Communism into Zaire prompted the United States to back Mobutu in spite of his domestic policies. By the 1990's, decades of economic mismanagement and political corruption had led to chaos marked by riots, massacres, and muti nity.