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Public Service Provision in a Failed State: Looking Beyond Predation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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  • Theodore Trefon

Abstract

‘The state is dying but not yet dead’ and ‘the state is so present, but so useless’ are also commonly heard refrains. These popular sentiments, inexorably expressed in all of the country's languages by the poor and the well-to-do, have been described by development experts and political scientists as state failure. But why is the state still so powerful and omnipresent in the daily lives of these people wronged by colonial oppression, dictatorship, economic underdevelopment and more recently, unresolved political transition? How, concretely, does the state manifest itself? Does the raison d’être of the Congolese state go beyond the violence of exploitation and predation? The objective of this article is to respond to these questions, contributing to our understanding of the function and dysfunction of the Congolese state, notably during the post-Mobutu transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Theodore Trefon, 2009. "Public Service Provision in a Failed State: Looking Beyond Predation in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(119), pages 9-21, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:36:y:2009:i:119:p:9-21
    DOI: 10.1080/03056240902863587
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pierre Englebert, "undated". "Why Congo Persists: Sovereignty, Globalization and the Violent Reproduction of a Weak State," QEH Working Papers qehwps95, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
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    Cited by:

    1. Olsson, Ola & Baaz, Maria Eriksson & Martinsson, Peter, 2020. "Fiscal capacity in “post”-conflict states: Evidence from trade on Congo river," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Foussiakda, Agino Cécilia & Kasherwa, Amani Clovis, 2020. "The challenges affecting foster care in a “failed-state” context: Case of the SEDI child protection network in South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. TUZOLELE, Adam S., 2024. "La Classe Inutile en République Démocratique du Congo [The Useless Class in the Democratic Republic of Congo]," MPRA Paper 121257, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Jun 2024.
    4. Alexander De Juan & Carlo Koos & Miquel Pellicer & Eva Wegner, 2022. "Can reconstruction programmes improve political perceptions in conflict contexts? Evidence from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(4), pages 427-455, December.
    5. Olsson, Ola & Eriksson Baaz, Maria & Martinsson, Peter, 2016. "Tolling on the River: Trade and Informal Taxation on the Congo," Working Papers in Economics 679, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    6. Tom Herdt & Kristof Titeca, 2016. "Governance with Empty Pockets: The Education Sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(3), pages 472-494, May.
    7. Samia Laokri & Rieza Soelaeman & David R Hotchkiss, 2018. "Assessing out-of-pocket expenditures for primary health care: how responsive is the Democratic Republic of Congo health system to providing financial risk protection?," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/273019, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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