Abstract
M.A.
The aim of this study was to explore the democratisation process that unfolded in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1990 to 2006 with a view to establishing whether Huntington’s model of democratisation as set out in his Third Wave: Democratisation in the Late Twentieth Century (1990) is useful in analysing the Congolese transition. Huntington’s model is essentially based on the experiences of democratisation in the so-called third wave of democratisation that occurred in countries in Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia.
In line with Huntington’s analysis of the democratisation process elsewhere, the study examined, among other things, the triggering factors of the democratisation process; the modes and characteristics of the transition and the factors favouring and obstructing the development of democracy in the Congo.
The study has found grounds for some minor deviations from Huntington’s observation of experiences elsewhere. These pertain to the sequence of the democratisation process, the complexity of the problem in the Congo and the role of the military. Whereas Huntington posited that one of three modes of transition occurred in a particular country – transformation, replacement and transplacement – all three modes transpired in a dialectical sequence in the Congo. In addition, the democratisation process in the Congo was intensely militarised since it involved not only the government and what one could call the ‘classical’ opposition, but also an ‘armed opposition’ encompassing several rebel groups and militias backed by foreign armies, each with its own agenda. Furthermore, when the military was confronted with the pressure to democratise elsewhere, it was generally instrumental in the democratisation process. In the Congo, to the contrary, it is the powerlessness of the military that constituted an obstruction to the democratisation process in the country. The weakness of the generals in the Congolese army results from their vassalisation by politicians who utilised army officers for their political ends.
However, in an overall evaluation of the applicability of Huntington’s model to the Congolese democratisation process, it can be stated that, despite the above minor differences, Huntington’s model serves as a useful tool in analysing the democratisation process in the country, irrespective of the complexity of the Congolese experience. The model serves to elucidate the causes,
patterns, power dynamics in the democratisation process, and also identifies potential problems in the consolidation of democracies. Its usefulness in analysing the Congolese transition makes it an equally useful tool in analysing the democratisation processes in other African countries.