The Congo from Leopold to Kabila

The Congo from Leopold to Kabila (2002) is the history of the Congolese democratic movement in the twentieth century. The history begins with Belgian colonial rule, working its way through Mobutu’s reign of terror, before looking at the Congo Wars and concluding with the prolific unrest still rampant at the turn of the century. This survey illuminates how exploitative external interests and internal weaknesses have hampered the Congolese democratic movement and proposes how it might still advance.

• Curious minds interested in Congolese history and its democracy movement
• Students of colonial and postcolonial history
• Africans and non-Africans seeking African history as told from an insider perspective

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is a Congolese scholar-activist who specializes in African politics. He is a consultant in public policy, governance and conflict-related issues. He was James K. Batten Professor of Public Policy at Davidson College and Professor of African Studies at Howard University. His publications include Conflict in the Horn of Africa, and he was co-editor of The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World.

Nzongola-Ntalaja also served as a delegate to the Sovereign National Conference of Zaire and was later Deputy President of the National Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.