Articles by Colin Hendrickx
Third World Quarterly, 2021
(Open Access) This article discusses the international dimension of the secessionist State of Kat... more (Open Access) This article discusses the international dimension of the secessionist State of Katanga (1960-1963). It argues in favour of a reassessment of the agency of Katangese political elites. In this regard, it opposes arguments that privilege conceptions of the Katangese state as being constrained by outside forces. Contrary to the latter viewpoint, it is argued, the regime of Moïse Tshombe survived for a relatively long period of time, not least because it succeeded in establishing an international network that mobilised mercenaries to work for the state, and reached out to extensive lobby structures in France, Belgium and the United States. On a theoretical level, the article adds to the growing body of literature that emphasises African agency in international relations, and literature reconsidering the Katangese secession. Finally, it makes an empirical contribution by making use of the hitherto neglected Moïse Tshombe archival collection.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Biografisch woordenboek van de Belgen overzee, 2021
Biografische notitie over Michel Struelens (1928-2014), Moïse Tshombe's vertegenwoordiger in New ... more Biografische notitie over Michel Struelens (1928-2014), Moïse Tshombe's vertegenwoordiger in New York.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Belgian History, 2019
This article addresses the relations between Belgium and Zaire during the time of Mobutu Sese Sek... more This article addresses the relations between Belgium and Zaire during the time of Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule of Congo/Zaire between 1965 and 1997. Several authors have focussed on the importance of the Cold War, or the existence of Zaire’s dependency relationship with Belgium. This study, however, argues that the Cold War was not the singular decisive factor. Through his foreign policy, Mobutu approached his African neighbours, Eastern European countries, China and North Korea, in order to actively shape his own policy whereby he sometimes acted against the interests of his Western allies. Similarly, the dependency relationship must also be reconsidered, because Mobutu skilfully made use of Belgium’s fractured political landscape, and of his personal relations with his own Ministers, Belgian Ministers, and the King of the Belgians.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Book Reviews by Colin Hendrickx
Cet article de revue analyse deux ouvrages concernant l'histoire de la République Démocratique du... more Cet article de revue analyse deux ouvrages concernant l'histoire de la République Démocratique du Congo/Zaïre indépendant, en mettant l'accent sur le règne du président Mobutu Sese Seko. En comparant les deux ouvrages, venant de deux traditions bien différentes, le présent article conclut que, vingt ans après la chute du régime de Mobutu, il n'existe pas (ou pas encore) de consensus historiographique sur le caractère dudit régime. Dans sa biographie de Mobutu, Jean-Pierre Lan-gellier, représentant du monde journalistique, soulignait l'amitié du président avec l'Occident, et l'influence de la Guerre Froide. À l'inverse, dans sa publication, l'académicien Gauthier de Villers relativisait dans sa publication le caractère déterministe de la Guerre Froide sur le régime et l'ami-tié inconditionnelle de Mobutu avec ses partenaires Occidentaux.
This review article analyses two publications which deal with the history of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo/Zaire, emphasising the reign of President Mobutu Sese Seko. In comparing the two publications, originating from two decidedly different traditions, the present article concludes that, twenty years after the fall of the Mobutu regime, there is not (yet) a historiographic consensus on the character of the Mobutu regime. Jean-Pierre Langellier, coming from the world of journalism, emphasised in his biography of Mobutu the importance of the President's friendship ties with the West, and the influence of the Cold War. Conversely, scholar Gauthier de Villers relativised the deterministic character of the Cold War on the regime, as well as the unconditional amical ties of Mobutu with his Western allies.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Conference Presentations by Colin Hendrickx
(Full text on request) The Katangese secession from Congo-Léopoldville (1960-63) happened during ... more (Full text on request) The Katangese secession from Congo-Léopoldville (1960-63) happened during a particularly tense moment during the Cold War in the Third World. Several scholars have started to broaden their scope away from the restrictions of a neo-colonial framework, without obscuring the role of external involvement (Larmer and Kennes 2014; Brownell 2014; Passemiers 2016). This presentation will look at the international dimension of the Katangese state and argue in favour of a reassessment of the agency of Katangese political elites. Based on the consultation of the Moïse Tshombe Papers, a hitherto neglected archival resource kept at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, this presentation focuses on the workings of the three most important ‘pseudo-diplomatic’ representations of Katanga, namely in Paris (Dominique Diur), New York (Michel Struelens), and Brussels (Jacques Masangu). The regime of Katanga’s president Tshombe survived for a relatively long period of time, not in the least because it succeeded in establishing an international network which mobilised mercenaries to work for the state, and reached out to extensive lobby structures in France, Belgium, and the United States. Although the Katangese political elites faced a considerable amount of constraints, ranging from (at least de jure) non-recognition by every UN member state, to conflicts with Northern Katangese population groups and the UN mission in Congo (ONUC), they succeeded in instrumentalising international actors for domestic purposes. Thus, this presentation dialogues with the literature that emphasises African agency in international relations, and literature reconsidering the Katangese secession.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) conference 'Exploring the Agency o... more Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) conference 'Exploring the Agency of the Global South in International Studies (Practices)' on 2 August 2019 in Accra, Ghana. (Full paper upon request)
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Papers by Colin Hendrickx
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Diplomacy and Borderlands: African Agency at the Intersections of Orders, 2020
During Mobutu Sese Seko's presidency of Congo/Zaire between 1965 and 1997, many high-ranking poli... more During Mobutu Sese Seko's presidency of Congo/Zaire between 1965 and 1997, many high-ranking politicians and diplomats went into voluntary or involuntary exile and advocated against the same regime they once endorsed. This chapter highlights the role of these actors in transnational anti-Mobutist advocacy networks and contends that they acted as non-traditional diplomats who were often more credible representatives of the Zairean people than the Zairean regime. Many exiles wrote about their experiences during their time as Zairean government representatives and these were often scathing anti-Mobutist accounts. This particular kind of advocacy brings Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink's boomerang pattern to mind. Surprisingly enough, some exiles were reappointed by the president and defended once again the Zairean state. The remarkable case of politician and ambassador Nguza Karl-I-Bond is well-documented but ambiguous and is highlighted in the chapter. Karl-I-Bond's and other cases show the dexterity of these exile-diplomats in their mobility between different orders. When the Zairean national order proved insufficient to voice their concerns, they not infrequently moved to Belgium, a legacy of the colonial order. Finally, Mobutu skillfully instrumentalised these dissenting voices by playing the politicians off against each other, and used the transnational anti-Mobutist advocacy networks in his diplomatic rows with Belgium. (Full chapter upon request)
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Books by Colin Hendrickx
The role of African agency has taken centre stage in scholarly discussions regarding the engageme... more The role of African agency has taken centre stage in scholarly discussions regarding the engagement of Africans with the international system. This thesis considers African agency through a case study on the agency of Congolese political elites in their engagement with the international system between the country’s independence from Belgium in 1960 and the end of President Mobutu’s tenure in 1997. Individuals are successfully exercising agency when their goals are realised as favourable outcomes through the structuring of their actions. This thesis applies the method of structured, focused comparison through an abductive research strategy in order to determine the goals and strategies of Congolese political elites. The empirical analysis identifies two sets of goals, namely goals related to legitimacy, and goals related to authority. Furthermore, the thesis develops a triad of strategies, namely accepting or rejecting institutions, making use of the performativity of speech, and instrumentalising real or perceived interests with international players. The triad of strategies is reformulated into hypotheses about African agency. The thesis makes a case for interdisciplinary basic research on African agency, in order to uncover goals and strategies of African political elites in their engagement with the international system. It contributes to the growing body of literature of Global South agency in the international system by putting theory into practice by doing empirical legwork on a challenging non-western case.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
African-European connections today are at a crossroads and under critical scrutiny. Calls are bei... more African-European connections today are at a crossroads and under critical scrutiny. Calls are being made for the restitution of African cultural objects housed by European museums yet acquired during colonial times. Movements such as Black Lives Matter remind us of the direct connection between colonialism and racism, mobilising thousands of people against systemic forms of racism in European societies. In academia, a vibrant debate is forcing universities to finally decolonise their educational programmes and research collaborations.
Conscious of the need to reflect on how to revise our reading of the past and redesign future African-European connections, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and Egmont-Royal Institute for International Relations organised a conference in September 2018. Titled Sharing Past and Future: Strengthening African-European Connections, the conference offered a forum to over 50 African and European academics, activists, artists, politicians and other stakeholders, who critically reflected on how Africans and Europeans can cooperate in a shared and sustainable way. The eclectic nature of the contributions by some of these participants, as presented in this volume, shows that prominent voices agree to disagree about the modalities of restitution, the politics of memory, the legacy of colonialism, and the nature of future African-European connections. While there are no clear-cut answers or solutions to the challenges identified and reconfirmed during the conference, each contribution should be considered an invitation and stimulus to scrutinise existing African-European connections, and to contribute to a true decolonisation and redrafting of these ties on the basis of equity, respect and solidarity.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Articles by Colin Hendrickx
Book Reviews by Colin Hendrickx
This review article analyses two publications which deal with the history of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo/Zaire, emphasising the reign of President Mobutu Sese Seko. In comparing the two publications, originating from two decidedly different traditions, the present article concludes that, twenty years after the fall of the Mobutu regime, there is not (yet) a historiographic consensus on the character of the Mobutu regime. Jean-Pierre Langellier, coming from the world of journalism, emphasised in his biography of Mobutu the importance of the President's friendship ties with the West, and the influence of the Cold War. Conversely, scholar Gauthier de Villers relativised the deterministic character of the Cold War on the regime, as well as the unconditional amical ties of Mobutu with his Western allies.
Conference Presentations by Colin Hendrickx
Papers by Colin Hendrickx
Books by Colin Hendrickx
Conscious of the need to reflect on how to revise our reading of the past and redesign future African-European connections, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and Egmont-Royal Institute for International Relations organised a conference in September 2018. Titled Sharing Past and Future: Strengthening African-European Connections, the conference offered a forum to over 50 African and European academics, activists, artists, politicians and other stakeholders, who critically reflected on how Africans and Europeans can cooperate in a shared and sustainable way. The eclectic nature of the contributions by some of these participants, as presented in this volume, shows that prominent voices agree to disagree about the modalities of restitution, the politics of memory, the legacy of colonialism, and the nature of future African-European connections. While there are no clear-cut answers or solutions to the challenges identified and reconfirmed during the conference, each contribution should be considered an invitation and stimulus to scrutinise existing African-European connections, and to contribute to a true decolonisation and redrafting of these ties on the basis of equity, respect and solidarity.
This review article analyses two publications which deal with the history of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo/Zaire, emphasising the reign of President Mobutu Sese Seko. In comparing the two publications, originating from two decidedly different traditions, the present article concludes that, twenty years after the fall of the Mobutu regime, there is not (yet) a historiographic consensus on the character of the Mobutu regime. Jean-Pierre Langellier, coming from the world of journalism, emphasised in his biography of Mobutu the importance of the President's friendship ties with the West, and the influence of the Cold War. Conversely, scholar Gauthier de Villers relativised the deterministic character of the Cold War on the regime, as well as the unconditional amical ties of Mobutu with his Western allies.
Conscious of the need to reflect on how to revise our reading of the past and redesign future African-European connections, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and Egmont-Royal Institute for International Relations organised a conference in September 2018. Titled Sharing Past and Future: Strengthening African-European Connections, the conference offered a forum to over 50 African and European academics, activists, artists, politicians and other stakeholders, who critically reflected on how Africans and Europeans can cooperate in a shared and sustainable way. The eclectic nature of the contributions by some of these participants, as presented in this volume, shows that prominent voices agree to disagree about the modalities of restitution, the politics of memory, the legacy of colonialism, and the nature of future African-European connections. While there are no clear-cut answers or solutions to the challenges identified and reconfirmed during the conference, each contribution should be considered an invitation and stimulus to scrutinise existing African-European connections, and to contribute to a true decolonisation and redrafting of these ties on the basis of equity, respect and solidarity.