Reinventing Order in the Congo: How People Respond to State Failure in Kinshasa
'This is an outstanding social anthropology of Kinshasa in the context of state collapse, the development of numerous survival strategies for food, water, healthcare and dealing with the sickness and death of loved ones, together with the mushrooming of NGOs dependent on external assistance for coping with the tragedy. Here is a book rich in empirical data, sophisticated in analysis, and sympathetic to the colossal efforts made by the people of Kinshasa to invent a socio-economic order likely to sustain decent livelihoods. This book will stand as a major contribution to the social science literature on the Congo, and also a model for looking at African urban life from the standpoint of the victims of state mismanagement' - Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Director, UNDP, Oslo Governance Centre  'This is a pioneering work whose relevance extends well beyond the confines of Kinshasa, and applies not only to Africa, but also to other so-called "developing" areas. The study analyses and documents an emblematic instance of the way people have responded to state "failure" or "collapse" through the development of extraordinary survival skills and new improvised forms of social organization' - Edouard Bustin, Boston University  'By what miracle of social ingenuity and resourcefulness have millions of urbanized Africans managed to survive in conditions of extreme poverty, adrift in an environment of collapsing state systems? To this question Theodore Trefon and his collaborators provide illuminating answers. Their work is a superb contribution to our understanding of the informal economy of sub-Saharan Africa's second largest city. They challenge old cliches about urban Africa, bring into focus new dimensions of analysis, delve into micro-level self-help strategies, and uncover new social phenomena. No one interested in probing the dynamics of African cities can afford to ignore this magnificent collaborative effort' - Rene Lemarchand, University of Florida