Ambivalent outcomes of statebuilding: multiplication of brokers and educational expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2004–13)

Abstract

This empirical article explores how the interaction between two key aspects of statebuilding (democratisation and decentralisation) and existing forms of governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo led to a multiplication in numbers of political and administrative brokers. Furthermore, it investigates how these brokers construct their roles well beyond official mandates. Responding to local demands, they circumvent formal procedures in order to obtain decrees accrediting public primary and secondary schools. As a result, the number of public schools has almost tripled since the early 2000s. Building on qualitative and quantitative empirical data, the article thus reveals that democratisation and decentralisation can reproduce clientelist structures. However, it also uncovers changing socio-spatial dynamics: certain historically neglected and conflict-affected districts have particularly benefited from brokers’ involvement. Despite these positive aspects, the article further illustrates how these outcomes counteract other central administrative and political objectives.

Marginalisation from Education in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Learning from Tanganyika and Ituri in the DR Congo

“…'Supply side' factors include those that affect education throughout the country, such as chronic underfunding of the education sector (De Herdt and Titeca 2016) or prohibitively high school fees (Verhaghe 2017), which are often exacerbated in conflict-affected provinces. They also include factors specific to these provinces, such as the destruction of school infrastructure and the deliberate targeting of school staff by armed factions (Brandt 2017(Brandt , 2019. 'Demand side' factors are equally numerous, as the economic, social and political factors hindering access to education are often exacerbated in conflict areas.…”

Marginalisation from Education in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Learning from Tanganyika and Ituri in the DR Congo

“…Despite the ongoing violence, the education sector has continued to operate in the conflict-affected eastern provinces of the DRC due to a range of factors, including shared governance arrangements between government and faithbased organisations (Titeca and De Herdt 2011), household contributions and the concomitant perceived value of education (Verhaghe 2017), the brokered informal expansion of the education sector (Brandt 2017), and redeployment of internally displaced teachers (Brandt 2019b). It is important to bear in mind, however, that these factors can be double-edged: Household contributions allow the education sector to continue to operate, but they can also cause dropouts, particular in households who cannot afford them; the informal brokered expansion can bring schools to the remote areas, but can exacerbate the inefficiency of educational governance and expenditures at a macro-level; redeploying teachers under the threat of withdrawing salaries ensures the opening of schools, but neglects the psycho-social well-being of these teachers.…”

Vernacular Resilience: An Approach to Studying Long-Term Social Practices and Cultural Repertoires of Resilience in Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…Despite its characteristic weakness, these studies have also noted a surprising and somewhat paradoxical resilience of the Congolese state as a mode of organisation of political, social and economic life in the DRC. This resilience is partially a tribute to the 'real governance' that characterises public sectors such as education, which have displayed enduring resilience despite the collapse of the formal institutional framework (Titeca and De Herdt 2011;Brandt 2017). It is also tied to the way populations have enduringly upheld the state as an idea and template for political organisation, despite its widespread absence and characteristic weakness (Stearns et al 2017;Englebert and Tull 2013).…”