Analysis by Adrienne Ábel
Even before its founding, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had been on the global radar due to its vast natural wealth. Following the colonial period and its independence, the Congo experienced many turbulent years under different political forces, the UN’s ONUC, MONUC, and MONUSCO peacekeeping missions, and coups of different kinds, until stabilizing under the current regime. Nearly 60 years after the withdrawal of the Belgian forces, the Congo still struggles with major economic difficulties which are holding the equatorial state back from developing a profitable economy. This analysis aims to analyze the critical barriers stopping the DRC from harvesting its natural wealth, and to elaborate upon some of the prospective economic opportunities that could spur the Congo’s development.