Green imperialism, sovereignty, and the quest for national development in the Congo

ABSTRACT

This article deploys the term ‘green imperialism’ to denote the specificities of contemporary imperialism within the context of the hoped-for global transition towards low-carbon capitalist economies and societies in the coming decades. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides a modern exemplar of green imperialist dynamics in action. Hegemonic powers are seeking to position the Congolese economy as an exporter of low-cost, low-carbon metals and an open market for the entry of renewable energy finance and technologies. To date, the political response to green imperialism in the DRC has reproduced a model of mining-led national development that historically has delivered little by way of material improvements for most of the population, thus undermining the prospects of prosperity in the country. Albeit this time around there is the possibility of expanded access for some to renewable forms of energy as a foreign-owned private commodity, with all the limitations and contradictions this new model of energy delivery entails.

RÉSUMÉ

Dans cet article, le terme « impérialisme vert » est utilisé pour désigner les spécificités de l’impérialisme contemporain dans le contexte de la transition mondiale espérée vers des économies et des sociétés capitalistes à faible émission de carbone dans les décennies à venir. La République démocratique du Congo (RDC) est un exemple moderne de dynamique impérialiste verte en action, les puissances hégémoniques cherchant à positionner l’économie congolaise en tant qu’exportateur de métaux à faible coût et à faible teneur en carbone et en tant que marché ouvert à l’entrée des financements et des technologies d’énergie renouvelable. La réponse politique à l’impérialisme vert en RDC reproduit un modèle de développement national basé sur l’exploitation minière qui, historiquement, n’a apporté que peu d’améliorations matérielles à la plupart des Congolais, sapant ainsi les perspectives de prospérité dans le pays. Cependant, cette fois-ci, il s’agit d’un modèle avec la possibilité d’un accès élargi pour certains aux formes d’énergie renouvelable en tant que marchandise privée détenue par des étrangers, avec toutes les limitations et contradictions que ce nouveau modèle de fourniture d’énergie implique.

RESUMO

Neste artigo, o termo ‘imperialismo verde’ é utilizado para denotar as especificidades do imperialismo contemporâneo no contexto da esperada transição global para economias e sociedades capitalistas de baixo carbono nas próximas décadas. A República Democrática do Congo (RDC) fornece um exemplo moderno da dinâmica imperialista verde em ação, com potências hegemónicas procurando posicionar a economia congolesa como exportadora de metais de baixo custo e baixo carbono e como um mercado aberto para a entrada de financiamento e tecnologias de energia renovável. A resposta política ao imperialismo verde na RDC está a reproduzir um modelo de desenvolvimento nacional liderado pela mineração que, historicamente, pouco tem proporcionado em termos de melhorias materiais para a maioria dos congoleses, minando assim as perspetivas de prosperidade no país. Ainda que desta vez com a possibilidade de acesso alargado de alguns a formas renováveis de energia como mercadoria privada de propriedade estrangeira, e todas as limitações e contradições que este novo modelo de fornecimento de energia implica.

KEYWORDS:

• Imperialism
• sovereignty
• development
• cobalt
• renewable energy
• Congo

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Imperialisme
• souvereineté
• développement
• cobalt
• énergie renouvelable
• Congo

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:

• Imperialismo
• soberania
• desenvolvimento
• cobalto
• energias renováveis
• Congo

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Divin-Luc Bikubanya and Stylianos Moshonas for their careful reading of an earlier draft of this article, as well as the reviewers and editors for their comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 A major contradiction of green imperialism is the ecological disruption and damage associated with the pursuit of low-carbon transitions based on their metal and mineral intensity (Sovacool et al. 2020).

2 A few months earlier, in July 2022, the UK published its first ever Critical Minerals Strategy, motivated by similar logics to the EU.

3 Law No. 14/011 of 17 June 2014.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ben Radley

Ben Radley is a Lecturer in International Development in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath. His research interests relate to the political economy of economic transformation in the global South, focusing on Central Africa, and a particular concern with resource-based industrialisation, green transitions, and labour dynamics. He is an Editorial Working Group member for the Review of African Political Economy, and an affiliated member of Centre d’Expertise en Gestion Minière at the Catholic University of Bukavu, DRC.