Realpolitik Approach & Zaire

The nations of the West have long promoted democracy and democratic reforms throughout the world and have taken considerable pride in the downfall of the Soviet Union and the potential for more democratic regimes in the former Eastern bloc states. Yet, the West has also often been quite willing to ignore the way some regimes have behaved in the past so long as they were not communist, and one example of this realpolitik approach can be seen in the history of Zaire during the regime of Mobutu Seko Sese, about which a reporter for Reuters could write, "The word 'kleptocracy'meaning a bureaucracy in which corruption is endemicwas coined with Zaire in mind" ("Mobutu, Textbook Strongman"). The reporter further notes that in spite of human rights abuses and the use of his position to enrich himself at the expense of his people, "Mobutu became the darling of the United States and others in the West as a buffer against the communist bloc" ("Mobutu, Textbook Strongman").

Once in power, Mobutu sought to centralize state power in order to penetrate all aspects, but in the economic realm, these efforts met with catastrophic results. Mobutu began a major state expansion and consolidation, and key to this process was the notion of economic sovereignty. Mobutu sought to bring economic activity within his tight control, giving particular attention to the mining activity in the secessionist Shaba and Kasai regions. Mobutu's primary objective was the consolidation of presidential

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Zaire, corruption seemed to be the norm. Access to high office was controlled by the president, and because no one could be sure of remaining in office for very long, the incentive was to profit as quickly and as much as possible. Access to high office was the only way the Zairian elite or wouldbeelite could attain, or maintain, a decent standard of living. This system further guaranteed that top functionaries would serve the president as their ultimate source of their livelihood and not the nation. This corruption was economically dysfunctional--it did not serve to grease the wheels of the economic machine by creating jobs or other forms of expansion. The system also could not promote sustained development. However, the system did work well to enrich the president and to keep him in control, so it was also unlikely that Mobutu would abandon it even under heavy internal and external pressures such as he faced in the early 1990s ("Patrimonial Politics and Corruption"). As the government was winding down last year, the old habits were seen as hard to break. Zaire announced increases in the pay and allowances of the presidency, cabinet ministers, and resident and deputy ministers, showing that the government believed it w

Category: Government - R