Resources and Power Dynamics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Interplay Between Formal Institutions and Informal Networks of Governance

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Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the interrelation between natural resources and power in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the lens of formal and informal governance regimes. The methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the concept of legal pluralism, research on the “resource curse” phenomenon, and analysis of the interaction between formal and informal actors as well as external players. The study identifies the mechanisms through which the DRC’s natural wealth becomes a driver of socio-economic vulnerability and political instability. The results show that in the DRC, the resource curse manifests in a complex manner, encompassing mineral, land, and water resources, as well as ecological systems, and transforms into a structural factor of internal instability. Control over resource extraction serves as a source of both revenue and power, which reinforces institutional weakness, provokes conflicts, and exacerbates poverty. The conclusion is drawn that without institutional reform and the establishment of mechanisms for accountable and inclusive resource governance, the DRC will remain in a state of chronic instability, where natural wealth reproduces crisis rather than development.

About the authors

Mary R. Avdalyan

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: avdalyanmr@my.msu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6872-3748

Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Asian and African Studies

Moscow, Russian Federation

Liubov N. Orlova

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Author for correspondence.
Email: l.orlova@spa.msu.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0009-5354-0047

Dr.Sc. (Economics), Professor, Department of Economics of Innovative Development, Faculty of Public Administration

Moscow, Russian Federation

Ksenia A. Sitar

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: sitarka@my.msu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1386-8442

PhD (Geology and Mineralogy), Senior Research Fellow, Department of Geology and Geochemistry of Combustible Minerals, Faculty of Geology

Moscow, Russian Federation

Ekaterina I. Baranovskaya

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: baranovskaya_kat@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3423-6970

PhD (Geology and Mineralogy), Associate Professor, Department of Hydrogeology, Faculty of Geology

Moscow, Russian Federation

Andrey G. Fesyun

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: fesyun@iaas.msu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0700-8262

PhD (History), Research Fellow, Institute of Asian and African Studies

Moscow, Russian Federation

Rena R. Timirgaleeva

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: timirgaleevarr@my.msu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3078-1050

Dr.Sc. (Economics), Professor, Lead Programmer, Institute of Mathematical Research of Complex Systems

Moscow, Russian Federation

References

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