The Political Climate in The Democratic Republic of Congo

Fatou Jarju, Spring 2025

A Case Study on the Democratic Republic of Congo, a case against Hardt and Negri’s Book on Empire

Through my research on the Democratic Republic of Congo and its persistent history of exploitation, I had found that neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism, has been an issue in the country.  Numerous capitalist cooperations heavily invest in the Democratic republic of Congo and its natural resources, without any reparations being paid to the locals or the government. ‘International geopolitical and financial interests continue to play out today in the DRC as foreign governments and corporations seek to capitalise on the troubled African nation’s vast resource wealth and strategic location’ (ch.4 p. 39). It is a country that has a rich supply of Cobalt and Lithium. Highly marketable natural resources that is used in the corporate industry. International companies have a high demand for these resources, and their growing need for these materials continues to drive competition and exploitation. In light of this capitalist companies resort to non-ethical forms of labour to extract these materials. Such as child labour, approximately 30-40% of the miners in the DRC are children and are aged 5-17 years old, they take up majority of the work force, working free of charge. This further violates the laws against child labour but the corruption that takes place in the Congolese government overlook these crimes. According to Hardt and Negri’s Capitalist mode of production. They imply that with capitalism and modernity the world has advanced to a level where we cannot distinguish the first world from the third world.  ‘Most significant, the spatial divisions of the three Worlds (First,Second, and Third) have been scrambled so that we continually find the First World in the Third, the Third in the First, and the Second almost nowhere at all.’ (Empire). I find this to be a misguided perspective, Hardt and Negri state Capitalism has allowed for many nations to develop, which is partially true however, the first, second, and third world as a construct still exists. If capitalism were truly equitable and served the people, it would imply that we lived in a world where global equality genuinely existed.Many nations would be able to show progress in their economic systems and in infrastructural development, at the same level as Western nations. This hypothetical equality would eliminate the present discourse surrounding wealth, resources and opportunities. Colonial conquest and Neo-Imperialism hasn’t allowed for such progression to come into fruition. ‘The Congo has been utterly cursed by its natural wealth.[17] This resource curse — also called the “paradox of the plenty” and “resource trap” — is the paradox of economic underperformance in a country that has lots of valuable natural resources.[18] Despite DRC’s independence, the scars of its colonial past remain. Today, the need for coltan, cobalt, and manganese has skyrocketed with technological advancement, pushing DRC into a neo-imperialistic era.’ (Henson. A)

The dependency rate and demand on raw materials increases each year. As companies are trying to tackle the climate crisis and use alternative materials to provide more eco-friendly forms of transportation, and technology. This has had a knock on effect on countries in the global south with their attempts to improve the climate issues within the global north . Large cooperations must change their forms of trade and extraction, as it is harmful to people as it is the climate. To create change and stability We cannot risk the lives of individuals and subject them to inhumane forms of labour and exploitation.

The mining projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo are unethical and severely harmful, natural minerals have seeped into local communities, contaminating their water systems. This also poses as a human rights violation by risking their health and safety for capital gains. Despite its vast contributions to the global market, Congo as a nation holds little dominance either economically or politically. According to Henson, they lack the capital and capabilities to enforce laws that protect their nation from exploitation. ‘DRC generally lacks a legal framework for antitrust and competition law as well as human rights claims. However, in 2018, DRC joined a group of African countries that established domestic competition law frameworks.[31] However, the regulatory scheme only address three basic topics: unfair competition, pricing regulation, and the creation of a competition commission.[32] While countries seeking mineral rights and interests have established antitrust law, DRC does not and there is not concrete international antitrust regulation.[33] Without clear standards on how much a single country can dominate another country’s resources, monopolies are ripe for the taking, influencing both the developing country’s development and global commerce.’ (Henson. A ). In the articles I had found, there was a common theme of multinational states and cooperations creating strategic forms trade to ensure their spot in the race for resources. ‘However, powerful multinationals hold the chips and cash in on the profit regardless of who suffers. A glaring example of this phenomenon lies in Chinese investment in the DRC, as state-run and private corporations’ control 70% of all copper and 50% of all cobalt mined in the country (Kavanagh & Clowes, 2021). Chinese mines and manufacturers do not produce most of the Congolese cobalt due to the country’s instability and volatility. As a workaround, the Chinese government and companies import cobalt through artisanal miners (Amnesty International, 2013). The supply chain from artisanal miner to Chinese multinational is often difficult to track due to the lack of regulation and government oversight. Chinese traders established within the region purchase the mined cobalt either from illegal artisanal miners, or from site owners themselves, where those traders then sell the cobalt to larger Chinese refining companies (Desai & Reid, 2021).’ (P. Anderson)

Congo continues to suffer needlessly, despite its abundant natural resources. The United Nations must take decisive action to prevent further exploitation. Unfortunately, the country has long been a target due to its wealth in natural materials. You can help by donating to charities like WaterAid, which provides clean drinking water, and War Child UK, which supports children affected by conflict. With ongoing political unrest and rebel groups invading the region, countless civilians face displacement, famine, and even worse tragedies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson P, ‘Cobalt and Corruption: The Influence of Multinational Firms and Foreign States on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’

Henson A, ‘Neocolonialism: Cobalt Mining in DRC’ (Michigan State International Law Review 12 October 2022) <https://www.msuilr.org/new-blog/2022/10/12/neocolonialism-cobalt-mining-in-democratic-republic-of-the-congo>

Jackson DA, ‘Imperialism: Alive and Well in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’ Chapter 4. Page 39. (Sdsu.edu2020)

Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire, 1st Edition, Harvard University Press, 2001