Democratic Republic of Congo

The Centre's Working Paper 3 'Economic and Political Foundations of State-making in Africa: understanding state reconstruction' (July 2006) by G. Hesselbein, F. Golooba-Mutebi and J. Putzel,  examines the record of state reconstruction in Uganda and Rwanda in the light of the experience of the stable state in Tanzania, and highlights the challenges posed for state making in DR Congo.   This comparative study found clear-cut evidence that the political inclusiveness needed to achieve stability and peace is not necessarily equivalent to formal democracy.  The authors argue that the experiences of state building through limited competitive politics in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, not to mention the historical experience of almost every one of the world's now developed countries, cast considerable doubt on the proposition that state-making can best be pursued by means of competitive elections of the type taking place in DR Congo in July 2006. 

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