Emizet François Kisangani, The Belgian Congo as a Developmental State: Revisiting Colonialism
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Belgians transformed their colony, the Belgian Congo, into a prosperous economy characterised by high profits, rapid industrialisation, and the large-scale export of raw materials.Therefore, Belgian colonial rule cannot be seen as the primary cause of the post-colonial malaise in the Congo.This is the central argument of Emizet François Kisangani's monograph, which examines how Belgian colonialism established the rule of law, critical infrastructure, property rights, and stable state revenues in Congo.While the author claims that applying the developmental state paradigm to the Belgian Congo (1908Congo ( -1959) ) allows for 'a more nuanced analysis of African history', I found his account to be outdated, simplistic, and ahistorical.Although
Author: Reinout Vander Hulst
Institution: State Archives of Belgium
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415738104
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