Author(s)

Chelo Kpats Guyguy^*, Xiaojun Xu

College of Sociology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.

This article uses a historical approach to identify and analyze the factors leading to the instability of political and administrative institutions of the Democratic Republic of Congo from independence to the year 2017. There are multiple factors related to institutional instability in the DRC. Key among them includes the inadequate constitutional provisions, the difficulties caused by the non-application of democratic principles, the heterogeneity of the populace and frequent conflicts. Other contributors to the institutional instability experienced in the DRC include the politicization of the administration, the prevailing social-economic situation, poor governance, the non-observance of the laws, the poor distribution of the national wealth, foreign pressures and macroeconomic influences. The challenges due to institutional and political instability in the DRC provide opportunities for the Congolese state and its populace to re-invent itself to be a truly democratic space where the ambitions to develop and improve the living conditions of the people can be improved through stabilized and functional institutions.

Instability, DRC, Political, Administrative, Institutions

Guyguy, C. and Xu, X. (2019) The Instability of Political and Administrative Institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 53-84. doi: 10.4236/jss.2019.72005.