Ending Zaire's `Eternal Crisis' and Positions for Advantage from Mobutu's Fall
Abstract
The words "crisis" and "chaos" have been so closely associated with central African giant Zaire for so long that they form part of the country's informal appellation. The literature about Zaire, from V.S. Naipul's 1981 book, A New King for the Congo: Mobutu and the Nihilism of Africa to Michael Schatzberg's 1991 tract, Mobutu or Chaos is the literature of despair and despondency. So many observers, in fact, have been writing in increasingly alarming terms of the Zairian tragedy for so long that it is all but impossible to find a positive assessment of the country's prospects. But Zaire is too important for Africa's future -- and, in the long term, given its size, riches and population, for the world's future -- for us to fail to make the necessary intellectual and economic investment now to ensure a stable, prosperous future for the country. What is more, it is the contention of this paper that the power or powers which move to take up Zaire's cause stand to gain a great deal: a favored economic and strategic position in Africa's richly endowed center, and the sort of sense of humanitarian accomplishment that all modern democratic powers appear to crave.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 17, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA440664
Entities
People
- Glyn Davies
Organizations
- National War College