1st Edition

Mobutu's Totalitarian Political System An Afrocentric Analysis

By Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana Copyright 2007
    138 Pages
    by Routledge

    138 Pages
    by Routledge

    Mobutu's political system, inaugurated in 1965 and lasting more than three decades, met all the characteristics of totalitarianism. This study shows that the failures and misdeeds of Mobutu's system were clear evidence that it lacked an African-centred vision and did not put the interests of the African people of Congo (formerly Zaire) at the centre of this political project.

    In this study Mobutu's political actions in the 1990s - mostly as they related to the National Sovereign Conference - are critically analyzed and found to be a deliberate attempt to obstruct the momentum of democracy for the African people of Congo. From an Afro centric standpoint, this obstruction is evidence of Mobutu's attempt to impede the search for harmony and peace by the Zairian people, and to reject the African-centred truth that without Ma'at (harmony) there is no understanding and no possible restoration of balance.

    Mobutu's Totalitarian Political System will be of interest to students and scholars of ethnic studies, political science and international relations.

    Table of contents

    List of Tables & Figures

    Preface

    Chapter One

    Introduction

    Chapter Two

    Concepts of Political Governance in Traditional Africa

    Chapter Three

    The Momentum of Democracy in Zaire: Sovereign National Conference

    Chapter Four

    State Crime in Mobutu’s Political System

    Chapter Five

    The African-centered Rationale for the Necessity of Zaire Democracy

    Chapter Six

    Concluding Remarks

    Appendix A

    Chronology of major events: 6th century to Mobutu’s second coup d’etat, November 24, 1965

    Appendix B

    Election criteria of the political elite in traditional Senegal

    Appendix C

    Theoretical Approaches to State Crimes

    Notes

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana is a scholar, social Justice advocate, teacher, social worker, and programs administrator. Dr. Ikambana has worked with Jesuit Refugee Service in collaboration with the UNHCR, Congreso De Latinos Unidos, American Friends Service Committee, a Nobel Prize winner organization, and is also a member of the Academy of Political Science.