From Political Monolithism to Multiparty Autocracy: The Collapse of the Democratic Dream in Congo-Brazzaville

Download or read book From Political Monolithism to Multiparty Autocracy: The Collapse of the Democratic Dream in Congo-Brazzaville written by Rufin Batota-Mpeho and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-05-05 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multiparty democracy that swept across Africa in the early 1990s, created a "momentum similar to that of the 1960s" (Lumumba-Kasongo 1998). The Sovereign National Conference of Brazzaville in 1991 marked the end of successive and unsuccessful monolithic powers - that led the Congo to political disarray and economic disintegration since the 1960s - and the beginning of a new era, that of multiparty democracy. The democratic dream came true. Marxist-Leninism, marred with dictatorship and military coups, was defeated. The Congolese people started to enjoy freedom of speech and vote that was confiscated since 1963. No sooner did the Congo start savouring the flavour of democracy than its path was strewn with obstacles. The move from political culture to economic performance, ethno-regional identities, the French foreign policy, the role of militias and the institutional design contributed to its failure. The 1997 civil war left the democratic dream in shambles and paved the way for a multiparty autocracy.