"Plato by a goodly similitude declareth, why wise men refrain to meddle in the commonwealth. For when they see the people swarm into the streets, and daily wet to the skin with rain, and yet cannot persuade them to go out of the rain, they do keep themselves within their houses, seeing they cannot remedy the folly of the people" - Sir Thomas More, De Optimo Rei Publicae Statu Deque Nova Insula Utopia, 1516.
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| My brother deployed to the DRC War 1998 - 2002 from 1 Commando, and so was a great source of operational/tactical details of this theatre. |
by Kudakwashe Kanhutu
A blind man at midnight on a dark moonless night is a fair characterisation of my knowledge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at this moment. Yet, in 3 months time I should be an expert that could be called on serious TV programmes to discuss the dynamics there. I say "could be called" because I don't think the word is out there yet that I will never do TV or mainstream newspapers anyway. Anything I want to say, I will say it on Facebook or on my Blog.
But Why Is This The Case?
By which I mean why am I so ignorant about the DRC. The fact of the matter is I have always found no reason (pre-my international relations degree) to think about the DRC. My brothers fought in the Mozambique War from 1986 - 1992 and then the DRC War from 1998 - 2002, but looking at my geography map, I could understand why Mozambique but not the DRC. We share the longest land border with Mozambique and our nearest distance to the seaports is at Beira. So, Mozambique ticks all the boxes where our vital national interests are concerned. The DRC and Zimbabwe on the other hand are separated by a whole country - Zambia. For the longest time I held the view that the DRC should be thrown out of SADC. In fact, I held this view up until 2013 when I finalised my International Relations dissertation: "Southern African Development Community (SADC), 1980 - 2010: An Assessment of the Opportunities and Constraints to Regional Integration." Thankfully my supervisor then, as now, prevented me from making prescriptions, but the point is that until May 2013, I did not want to know about the DRC.
Even until about February 2014, my approach to the DRC has not been selfless or for the sake of solidarity with the long suffering people of that country but more that of a selfish: "if I can understand this very complex problem, then solving and contributing to my own Republic (Zimbabwe's) best practice will be a walk in the park." But you see, I am getting so animated that I have not even bothered to introduce the purpose of this blog entry properly.
Introduction:
The Durham Global Security Institute at Durham University accepted my application last year on the basis of my proposal to contribute to an understanding of what can enhance human security in Southern Africa. I was very clear in my proposal; that I cared about this topic because I am potentially the 1 in 10 or 6 out of 10, or whatever statistical measure that is en vogue these days when announcing the victims of human insecurity. My proposal was to build on my intimate knowledge of the Southern African dynamics (the DRC has never been Southern African in my book) so as to add to the recorded stock of knowledge on behalf of that geographical location. Yet continual thinking about the issues made me realise that the only reason why I wanted the DRC thrown out of SADC was because that seems the easy solution, and not because I could - through logic - argue that the DRC's inclusion has had a destabilising effect on the entire region. Consequently, somehow, I roped myself into writing a 15 000 word dissertation explaining the dynamics of the DRC. My plan was very simple (and brilliant until I met my supervisor): to show that the DRC's weak statehood is the reason for continual conflict and the source of human insecurity. Strengthen the State's institutions and you are home and dry. Wow! Right? Wrong!
The State and Human Security in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
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| Met my dissertation supervisor, convinced that I had all the foundational blocks in place to make a convincing argument about resolving insecurity in the DRC. This was the outcome of our meeting! |
Over a 1 hour first meeting with my dissertation supervisor all my brilliant ideas were shot to shreds as either presumptuous, un-academic, un-analytical or pedestrian. She didn't say it in those words but I am perceptive like that! So, in 1 hour, the dissertation I thought would write itself fell apart. Oh, trust and believe, the dissertation will be written. It is my firm rule since primary school that: we do not return a blank answer sheet in an exam or for coursework. It will just be harder than I thought, that's all. But the real reason of this blog entry is to record all I know about the DRC at this stage. This will add to my own surprise when I finally finish this dissertation and will likely have knowledge at par with the citizens of the DRC.
What I Know Now:
For now I know all the things that are easily found on Wikipedia; the flag, notable persons, events etc but not the interconnections between them, but give me 3 months and I will be able to tell you much more.
My approach and central argument which may or may not survive the next 3 months is this - The centrality of the State in the provision of human security: a defence, development and diplomacy analysis of insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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| All the symbols of Statehood are there, but is it really a State? |
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