Introduction
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the eleventh largest country in the world and has over $29 trillion in unexploited minerals and natural resources (News about Congo). Given this fact, how is it that the DRC ranks 172 in economic freedom? The simple answer is the country is afflicted with inadequate security, shoddy governance, and a long-lasting humanitarian crisis. It is imperative that the United States (U.S.) understands the framework surrounding the operational environment, strategic implications, and how they can use its instruments of national power as a strategy to affect the DRC. Social redistribution is a method that will assist in achieving U.S. strategic goals due to the ineptness and limited capacity
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III. The U.S. can utilize its instruments of national power along with the international community to positively effect change within the DRC.
a. The United States can utilize the Inter-Parliamentary Union to assist the government of the DRC to institute a government designed to institute social equality throughout the country.
b. The international body will need to advise and assist the DRC on management of its resources.
c. A capable government can create positive generational change by addressing social infrastructure issues and addressing the population’s necessities.
d. Stability in the DRC will provide the U.S. with a trusted commerce partner.
e. A steadfast DRC will provide the U.S with a strategic location to support aid and shaping operations.
Conclusion
In summary, it is of strategic importance to the United States that a stable and secure DRC exists. Therefore, it is essential that the U.S. take an active role in providing solutions to the country’s issues. One of these solutions is creating a competent government capable of providing its population with basic humanitarian needs through a social redistribution system. The U.S., along with its international partners, can assist the DRC government in providing the framework for accomplishing this. Although critics may oppose this strategy due to its essence of socialism, an unpopular form of governance in
Disease such as malaria are degrading the society and causing a lack of educated youth in the Congo. The children are the future of any society. The main goal of the United States is to have a well educated and effective group of children who will grow up and lead the country to success. The Congo off course would
Transition (summary, signpost, preview): We just discussed the problems surrounding the DRC including deadly disease and poor education. Next, I will explain significant causes of these issues.
At these moments, life in the Congo is a living nightmare. The eastern provinces of the Congo see violence every day. Women are getting raped at alarming rates. Children are constantly abused and forced to become child soldiers. There are no sources of medicine or even clean water. Anyone can get murdered at any time, and no one is even safe in their own homes.
I believe that the purpose of the DRC is to help individuals to become productive citizens in our community and to help reduce the entrance into “the revolving door”.
Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International
Few places are more treacherous than the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Africa. For two decades, near-steady warfare has claimed millions of lives in the area.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has always been an extremely poor country. They rank as the poorest country in the world but have a high number of natural resources (“World Without Genocide”). The Congo has an unemployment rate of around ninety-five percent, more than half of the Congo people do not have access to clean water, and their mortality rates among children is highest of any country in world (“Congo Voice”). Their economic situation made it even harder for the
The large cash injection would then create a “greasing the gears effect” and allow for the jumpstart of economic development. Between the years of 1948 and 1952 the U.S. granted $13 billion to revamp the European economy (Dambisa, 2009: 35). This particular method achieved great success in post-World War II Europe and was known as the Marshall Plan. Due to its effective and unquestionable success in this era, the model was applied to economic development in Africa with the confidence that the same outstanding results would ensue. However, the application of the Marshall Plan to Africa is problematic for three reasons. One, the Marshall Plan had a rigid duration period of five years while, the concessional loans and grants to Africa over the last 50 years have been unending (Dambisa, 2009: 36). Two, European institutions were already in place to receive the aid efficiently and effectively. In Africa, however, these same institutions are either non-existent or grossly ineffective due to corruption (Dambisa, 2009: 37). The vast amounts of corruption have been heavily documented. Mobutu Sese Seko, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997, for example, stole an equivalent of U.S. 5 billion dollars from his people (Dambisa, 2009: 48). However, even the less corrupt rulers of many African countries had few options as to what to invest the aid money on. Consequently, the bulk concessional aid goes directly into consumption without a variety of investment outlets. This process does not solve the problem but instead, allows for the cycle to continue. Lastly, three, the money from the Marshal had specific targets to repair physical infrastructure such as, roads, communications, sewage, factories, and electric systems (Dambisa, 2009: 37) In Africa today, the scope of the
Despite its immense potential, very little of this wealth has benefited the Congolese people. Instead, all of its riches have attracted adventurers, warlords, corrupt governments, and unscrupulous corporations, and divided the population into competing groups. This is the main source of the conflict that rids the majority of eastern DRC (“The world factbook,” 2017).
In the 21st century, African Nations have been suffering with sovereignty, in the way where a majority of the nations people has been suffering from a lack of the rule of law. No different from the mainstream nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo faces a rapid deterioration of their government. The “Fragile State Index “ has placed the Democratic Republic of Congo at 7th out of 178th countries in the world. Even though the people have suffered from the lack of trust between people of the nation and the government, which has ineffective laws and regulations. Furthermore, the government’s job is to unite people, encourage positive organization, and supply basic needs for its people. So why are the people
As the leader of the free world, it is vital that our nation demonstrates fiscal and political support for Côte d’Ivoire’s democratic transition. Côte d’Ivoire could easily be the catalyst that could stabilize democratic norms in the MENA region. By helping our foreign friend in its transition, the U.S. can follow through on its word, strengthen political ties, increase democratic norms, increase intelligence on rising international terrorist organizations, and most importantly develop a further peace between our country and the Arab
In 2000, United Nations announced the Millennium Declaration for global development and committed to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 (United Nations, 2000). Over the past 15 years, by reviewing and reflecting the failures and success of these ambitious goals (Childs, 2015), the debate about international giving continues. To support the stance about “the U.S. government and NGOs should stop aiding more to foreign countries,” this memo will briefly indicate this stand. In order to be well prepared for our debate, this note could provide a brief outline for this point of view.
The Republic of Congo’s government will continue to weaken and will not be able to work successfully. To strengthen the economy you must first have balance in the political development and democracy, which in fact is organized by policies modeled by The World Bank (International Monetary Fund 6).
Over the last 50 years, the world has struggled to maintain an economic balance and stability, while flourishing countries try to maintain a steady income to support its people and relations with other countries. Therefore, when a continent like Africa fails to maintain a stable government and economy, super powers such as America decide to intervene with its relations. Africa has great potential to become another pillar of the world’s economic structure with its mass amounts of uncultivated land. Unfortunately, corruption and irresponsible governments hinder that progress. Foreign aid while helpful should be limited to a yearly amount because it allows the government to repudiate responsibility and gives room for corruption; it creates a
looking distraught personal profit growing every day, submission and affected are political and economic actors of life of the population who are the lowest layer, the left out or those whose works benefit others and in return receive almost nothing. For example, the Democratic republic of Congo would be a great global wealth by the side of the