A Legatum Institute paper by James Robinson The Democratic Republic of Congo Edges Toward Statehood,contends that things are beginning to turn in the DRC :
More hereJames Robinson, Harvard professor of government and co-author of the pathbreaking book, Why Nations Fail, is surprisingly upbeat on D.R. Congo’s prospects. He views the country’s progress (and past lack thereof) through the lens of political theory. The D.R. Congo, he argues, has been governed since independence in the “patrimonial” style, through complex pyramids of obligation cemented by material rewards—much as Europe was governed before the rise of the nation-state. It “worked” in the sense that it kept leaders in power, Robinson notes, but left the economy a stagnant ruin.
And that good news I promised? Robinson sees signs that, over the last dozen years, D.R. Congo’s governance has been evolving away from patrimonialism toward a more modern form that is responsive to the needs of the broader society and compatible with long-term economic growth.
Peter Passell, Editor
