Africanizing Manifestos: The Political Economics of Sincerity in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania
Location
PANEL: Mellon Mays Undergraduate Senior Fellows Part I
Mudd 113
Moderator: Kathryn Metz
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
4-25-2025 11:00 AM
End Date
4-25-2025 12:00 PM
Abstract
In May 1967, Joseph Mobutu, the dictator of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and his political party the Movement Populaire de la Révolution (MPR), published the Manifesto of N’sele, the backbone of his Authentécité ideology. That same year, Tanzania’s president, Julius Nyerere released his Arusha Declaration, officially establishing African Socialism in the country through Ujamaa. Both texts outline a plan to Africanize their respective countries as the primary strategy to develop beyond the legacies of colonialism. Despite the similarities– both emphasize the creation of a unified national identity, and the goal of economic stability through increased government involvement– the effects of their policies led the countries down vastly different paths.
Nyerere’s economic policies were deeply intertwined with his social policies, working in tandem in an attempt to eliminate class divides. Education programs encouraged collaboration and taught skills that were valuable for Tanzania’s agrarian economy. Africanization in this case was an all-encompassing point of inspiration to achieve a comparatively stable and anti-colonial culture and economy. Conversely, Mobutu’s social policies were largely divorced from economic policies. He used Africanization as a narrative to distract from growing class divides and strengthen the capitalist class to the benefit of foreign governments, resulting in increased economic dependence on the Global North and decreased political stability. This comparison ultimately reveals that economic independence is contingent on successfully resisting foreign (particularly global capitalist) influence, and that this itself can only be achieved when social policies are strengthened with the corresponding economic action.
Keywords:
African socialism, Africanization, Political economy, Post-colonialism
Recommended Citation
Fournier, Amélie, "Africanizing Manifestos: The Political Economics of Sincerity in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania" (2025). Research Symposium. 6.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2025/presentations/6
Major
History
Africana Studies
Award
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship
Project Mentor(s)
Charles Peterson, Africana Studies
2025
Africanizing Manifestos: The Political Economics of Sincerity in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania
PANEL: Mellon Mays Undergraduate Senior Fellows Part I
Mudd 113
Moderator: Kathryn Metz
In May 1967, Joseph Mobutu, the dictator of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and his political party the Movement Populaire de la Révolution (MPR), published the Manifesto of N’sele, the backbone of his Authentécité ideology. That same year, Tanzania’s president, Julius Nyerere released his Arusha Declaration, officially establishing African Socialism in the country through Ujamaa. Both texts outline a plan to Africanize their respective countries as the primary strategy to develop beyond the legacies of colonialism. Despite the similarities– both emphasize the creation of a unified national identity, and the goal of economic stability through increased government involvement– the effects of their policies led the countries down vastly different paths.
Nyerere’s economic policies were deeply intertwined with his social policies, working in tandem in an attempt to eliminate class divides. Education programs encouraged collaboration and taught skills that were valuable for Tanzania’s agrarian economy. Africanization in this case was an all-encompassing point of inspiration to achieve a comparatively stable and anti-colonial culture and economy. Conversely, Mobutu’s social policies were largely divorced from economic policies. He used Africanization as a narrative to distract from growing class divides and strengthen the capitalist class to the benefit of foreign governments, resulting in increased economic dependence on the Global North and decreased political stability. This comparison ultimately reveals that economic independence is contingent on successfully resisting foreign (particularly global capitalist) influence, and that this itself can only be achieved when social policies are strengthened with the corresponding economic action.
