Aug 3, 2025
Rudy joins Jeremy Rich for a discussion on the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the late 80s to the present. We cover the decay of Mobutu's regime, the changes in the 90s, how the Rwandan Civil War prompted an invasion and the first and second Congo Wars, the factions involved in these wars including the special role of Rwanda and Paul Kagame. We discuss the transitions of power, from Mobutu, to the Kabilas, and to the present president Tshisekedi; the role of the U.S. and China, the recent rise in "rebel" activity and the outlook for the future.
References:
Orgs - Friends of the Congo (www.friendsofthecongo.org).
Twitter: Gaeten-Dauphin Nzowo (@GNzowo) and Benedicte Njdoko
(@babisema)
Readings on the 1990-2020s: Jason Stearns's The War That
Doesn't Say Its Name; writings by Kristof Titeca and Judith
Verweijen. Cold War in DRC: Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Patrice
Lumumba; Piero Gleijses's books Visions of Freedom and
Conflicting Missions; Pedro Monaville's Students of
the World; James H. Smith's The Eyes of the World: Mining the Digital Age in the Eastern DR
Congo