The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the poorest nations in the world and has been plagued by political and ethnic violence for decades. Understanding why the DRC is in such dire political, economic, and social crises today requires acknowledgement and examination the systems of imperialism that continue to control and exploit the country. Achieving independence in 1960 did not rid the DRC of imperialism. Instead many of the same countries and corporations that took advantage of the region during the days of colonialism simply changed their tactics. This thesis demonstrates the ways in which powerful industrialized countries entrap the DRC and its people in resource extraction schemes, crushing debt, and aid dependency. European development banks finance palm oil plantations and logging corporations that cause immense damage to the country’s ecology while compensating their local employees with extreme poverty wages and exposing them to toxic chemicals. Foreign owned mining corporations facilitate a smoldering civil war and employ child laborers in dangerous working conditions, while foreign weapons manufacturers profit off the chaos by adding fuel to the fire.
