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A New Paradigm of the African StateThe Congo State in Historical Perspective II

A New Paradigm of the African State: The Congo State in Historical Perspective II [In september 1876, in brussels, lÉopold II, king of the belgians, Convened a geographical conference of leading explorers of Africa and founded the Association Internationale Africaine (International African Association [AIA]) “for the avowed purpose of promoting the civilization and commerce of Africa.”1 King Léopold declared himself the sovereign of the Congo Free State (CFS) and the territory thus became, in effect, his private domain, until he bequeathed it to the Belgian state in August 1908. Between 1891 and 1912, one of the most devious and ruthless systems of economic exploitation through forced labor ever conceived was put in place by Léopold, with devastating consequences for the Congolese population. Léopold formulated a policy whereby nine-tenths of the Congo territory was declared “vacant” and thus became his personal property in his capacity as “sovereign” of the CFS. The king farmed out a large proportion of the total territory to private Belgian chartered Furthermore, the Congo’s predicament belies the argument of the “failed state” and “criminalization of the state” theorists, who vastly underestimate the responsibility of Western international, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies in this situation: “globalization has sustained the wars in Congo and other African governments played their part.”110] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A New Paradigm of the African StateThe Congo State in Historical Perspective II

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References (10)

Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan US
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America Inc. 2009
ISBN
978-1-349-37456-4
Pages
119 –137
DOI
10.1057/9780230618312_8
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[In september 1876, in brussels, lÉopold II, king of the belgians, Convened a geographical conference of leading explorers of Africa and founded the Association Internationale Africaine (International African Association [AIA]) “for the avowed purpose of promoting the civilization and commerce of Africa.”1 King Léopold declared himself the sovereign of the Congo Free State (CFS) and the territory thus became, in effect, his private domain, until he bequeathed it to the Belgian state in August 1908. Between 1891 and 1912, one of the most devious and ruthless systems of economic exploitation through forced labor ever conceived was put in place by Léopold, with devastating consequences for the Congolese population. Léopold formulated a policy whereby nine-tenths of the Congo territory was declared “vacant” and thus became his personal property in his capacity as “sovereign” of the CFS. The king farmed out a large proportion of the total territory to private Belgian chartered Furthermore, the Congo’s predicament belies the argument of the “failed state” and “criminalization of the state” theorists, who vastly underestimate the responsibility of Western international, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies in this situation: “globalization has sustained the wars in Congo and other African governments played their part.”110]

Published: Nov 5, 2015

Keywords: Gross Domestic Product; Ethnic Conflict; Western Power; International Crisis Group; Paris Club

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