City Politics
A Study of Léopoldville, 1962-63

City Politics is a detailed study of the city of Kinshasa, capital of the Congo.

J. S. La Fontaine (Author)

9780521088848, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 October 2008

268 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.4 kg

City Politics is a detailed study of the city of Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville), capital of the Congo, in the years immediately following independence. The book is a study of political leadership in an urban African movement undergoing extremely rapid change. The social and political processes of the city are examined in order to assess how certain citizens achieved political influence and how they maintained themselves in these positions of power. The history of the city, the population structure and the social economic structure of the city are all described in detail to provide the necessary background for the analysis of the political processes identified by the author. This work will be of interest to a wide readership. The description of a period in the process of decolonization of the only Belgian colony in Africa will prove of value to historians and political scientists.

Part I: 1. Introduction
2. The Historical background
3. The physical setting
4. Population structure and growth
5. The economic framework
6. The machinery of urban government
7. Religious organisation
Part II. Social Relations: 8. The Urbanised
9. Community and neighbourhood
10. Domestic groups and kinship
11. Voluntary associations
12. Friendship
13. Townsmen and the supernatural
Part III. Politics in Léopoldville: 14. Political parties
15
The sources of power
16. Leaders
17. Followers
18. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]