The Struggle for Kingship: Moses or Messiah — Ethnic War and the Use of Ethnicity in the Process of Democratization in Congo-Brazzaville

Abstract

Since 1991, Congo-Brazzaville has tried to establish a democracy.² This chapter discusses how different political actors have used the democratization process and discourse in order to manoeuvre in the political arena, both within Congo and globally. As such, it is proposed that the present struggle is best understood as a struggle for kingship among political leaders. The use of ethnicity in the civil war is addressed, and the role of the ‘abandoned’ but still well-armed groups of young men is examined. These groups were useful tools for the political leaders who turned the conflict into an ethnic one, but their existence does also constitute a challenge to their political leadership.

This chapter is based on ongoing anthropological fielswork in Brazzaville. The project is carried out in cooperetion with Professor Kajsa Ekholm Friedman. It started in 1995 and is financed by SIDA/SAREC. I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in CODESRIA’s Governance Institute 1997, in Dakar, Senegal. I benefited greatly from the discussions with my fellow colleges from different parts of Africa as well as from the seminars of Jean-Marc Ela, Achille Mbembe and Mamadou Diouf.