North Congo

# Republic of North Congo

The Republic of North Congo, or as it's more commonly known North Congo, is a landlocked state in Central Africa. The North Congo is the largest state in the Congo Basin. North Congo's capital is the country's largest city of Stanleyville.

## Colonial History

The Pre-Colonial Era in the North Congo is marked by various states and tribes. When the French arrived, they pursued a violent campaign of suppression along the Congo River. The area was eventually organized into an entity known as Upper Congo Colony in 1894.

The Upper Congo Colony became famous for its rubber. In order to profit from the Rubber Trade, France created a series of corporate concessions in the Upper Congo. The largest of these concessions was to the Société Africaine de Caoutchouc Franco-Néerlandaise (Franco-Dutch African Rubber Company) (later known as Ubangi Company). The region's plantations became infamous for their harsh conditions, and only after all the crimes were made clear to the international community, did the French take action. The French reintegrated all of the company concessions back into a direct administration.

The Congo would remain relatively the same until the Upper Congo would have to provide colonial troops to the Entente-German War. The involvement of colonial forces in the war would lead to a national awakening in Africa. Madagascar would be the first to gain its independence on May 14th 1947. This kick started the disintegration of the French Empire in Africa. Fellow Africans demanded France leave, its territories so that they could gain home rule like Madagascar. The result was a string of independence calls. The French converted the colonial empire to a French Community in 1948; however it was viewed as not enough. The eruption of violence in Algeria and other hot spots lead to the complete loss of faith in the French Community by moderate members.

The largest pro-independence movement in the Upper Congo was Patrice Lumumba's Mouvement National Congolais (Congolese National Movement). Lumumba's MNC saw a massive spike in support in 1954 after the Stanleyville Roit. The Upper Congo was finally granted independence on June 30th 1956, as the Republic of North Congo.

## Initial Independence

The North Congo would hold snap elections on October 24th to create a government. The period before elections is marked by relative instability as Justin Bomboko's Congolais Unité Solidarité (Congolese United Solidarity), a pro-French party, clashed with Lumumbas MNC. The period also saw agitation from the Pro-International Parti Révolutionnaire Populaire du Congo (Popular Revolution Party of the Congo) led by Christophe Gbenye. When the snap elections were held, the MNC secured the majority required to form a government. The CUS would lead the opposition coalition in the parliament and the PRPC would enter the MNC's People's Rally parliament coalition.

With a parliament now elected, the constitutional convention is established. Lumumba wanted a unitary system while Bomboko and the CUS wanted to create a federal system. The parliamentary struggle resulted in a deadlock on the Constitution. It was only broken after Lumumba had the People's Rally coalition vote to lower the conventions voting threshold to pass the MNC's unitary constitution. The CUS would call fraud and denounce the move as illegal, yet Lumumba's actions broke the deadlock. Lumumba would then begin to tackle his agenda. This period, called the "Legislative Firestorm", would see the most laws passed in the North Congo's history in such a short period of time. The laws included: anti-monopoly bills, worker protections, judicial reforms, basic social safety nets, tax reforms, centralization, education reform, and much more. The state gradually stabilized. The Parliamentary elections in 1962 confirmed Lumumba's mandate and solidified the MNC's majority position. The North Congo saw this upward trajectory continue until the the Katangan Sucession

## Katangan Crisis

In the North Congo, the Katangan Sucession became known as the Katangan Crisis. The Katagan Crisis became a big issue for the new parliament (after the 1968 Legislative elections). The legislature split over the response to the Crisis. Lumumba wanted to intervene and end the foreign dominated Kingdom of Kongo for a larger Congolese revolution; however, Bomboko and the CUS wanted to take an indirect approach and strengthen Joseph Kasa-Vubu's ABAKO (a Kongolese republican movement). The parliament again divided, and the People's Rally Coalition began to split. The PRPC wanted immediate intervention while some more moderate MNC members wanted a cautious approach. The split in the MNC lead to two camps. The Lumumbist Camp with the PRPC wanted an immediate intervention while President Joseph Iléo urged moderate members to caution creating the moderate camp. The deadlock was only resolved when Lumumba had to back down following the ANC's Chief of Staff , Victor Lundula, declaring that Armée Nationale Congolaise (Congolese National Army) would be ill prepared to stage an intervention. Lumumba backing down saw the MNC begin to heal, but the coalition with the PRPC suffered. The PRPC officially broke with the MNC in parliament and denounced Lumumba backing down.

## Modern History

Following the Katagan Crisis, Lumumba and his control began to get more fragile, his parliamentary coalition has broken down and he lost political face. Yet, at the same time, Lumumba's reforms began to see actual returns. The standard of living continued to increase and the economy had rapidly expanded. At the same time, Lumumba's leadership created some instability with two major parliamentary deadlocks where Lumumba had taken extreme measures and wanted to avoid compromises on his vision for the North Congo. Lumumba still speaks of a larger Congolese Revolution and has taken steps to strengthen the ANC to a modern fighting force, capable of launching such a revolution.

## Economy

The North Congo's economy can best be described as the policy Dirigisme. The North Congolese economy has a high level of state interventionism to spur economic growth and protections while also being still a free market. While no where near as interventionist as the Market Socialist economies of the International, it still leans into semi-socialist policies. The economy is fueled by mainly resource extraction, tourism for the rich, and industrial centers. The North Congo also has a slowly emerging farming sector, and the Government has been giving out grants to mechanize the industry. Previously, the farming sector had been marked by subsistence farming, but in order to ease off of large food imports the Government has chosen to try and modernize the agricultural industry. The high protections make the Congolese economy a bit of an oddity for investors; however, smaller French companies have continued to operate in the North Congo making millions. French expertise serves as a key point for stable economic growth in North Congo

## Military

The Armée Nationale Congolaise (Congolese National Army) serves as the ground forces of North Congo. The ANC is composed of around 75K personnel. The ANC is trained by French advisors, who help the ANC reach a modern standard. The majority of the ANC's equipment is bought from French stockpiles. The Force Aérienne Nationale Congolaise (Congolese National Air Force) serves as the air force in North Congo. The FANC is decently sized and made up of primarily French planes and equipment.

## Culture

The majority of the North Congolese people are christian with some holding indigenous beliefs. Catholicism is the dominant christian sect in the North Congo. The North Congolese cultural scene is heavily influenced by France, so the North Congo is the most influenced culturally by Europe. Despite the heavy foreign influence, the Congo Rain Forest regions are almost unchanged from before the Europeans arrive. The North Congo is a multi-cultural and ethnically state. However, the divisions play a small role because the Government has worked tirelessly to create a Congolese identity and encourage voter participation.

## Government

The Government of the Republic of North Congo is based off of the French system. It is a parliamentary republic with the main power being centered in a Prime Minister and a largely ceremonial President. The Legislative Branch is the Parliament of the North Congo. The constitution has the parliament up for reelection every 6 years. The Parliament is divided into 2 houses. The first being the National Assembly. The National Assembly is held by direct election every 6 years. It holds the main legislative powers in North Congo.

The other branch is the Senate which consists of traditional tribal leaders, whom are given hereditary appointments, and other seats are done by popular elections. The divide between appointed hereditary seats and elective seats is about 1/3rd hereditary. 1/3rd of the elective senate seats are up for election every 2 years. The Senate has the power to veto bills, approve & edit bills (although if they refuse to pass it (a process different from a veto), the Prime Minister will can upon the President to fix the issue by a process known as presidential review), and approve changes to the constitution. The Senate has a leader known as the Head of Council of the Senate. Their powers are to call the senate into session and to serve as its voice in affairs. The Head of Council is nominated by a simple majority vote in the Senate.

The chief legislative power is the National Assembly composed of representatives from each province. The National Assembly initiates all laws in the country. The head of the National Assembly is the Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. The main executive powers of the North Congo are split between the Prime Minister and President. The Prime Minister has the majority of the power. They send a list of appointments to the Presidential to nominate for government ministries. If the President accepts, they are then placed in front of the Parliament for acceptance. While the President can refuse these appointments and nominate their own, it would most likely result in them all being refused. The Ministers form a Cabinet that the President is the head of and the Prime Minister is also in. The Prime Minister's power comes from the parliament and these allies in the Cabinet. The President is elected by popular vote. They appoint a Prime Minister that must command a majority approval from the Parliament. The President can also dismiss the Prime Minister (If a dismissal results in a no new Prime Minister being appointed, it is considered a fallen government). The President is responsible for foreign affairs and the nomination of the Cabinet. Finally, the Judical System is based around a series of regional courts, provincial courts, and a Supreme Court. The courts can rule on laws and they can be appealed to a higher court.

## Politics

The North Congolese Political spectrum is dominated by 3 main parties. The Current ruling one is the big tent Mouvement National Congolais (Congolese National Movement). The MNC holds the majority of parliamentary seats and has shaped the nation since independence. The MNC is internally divided into many camps. The two major camps are the MNC-Moderates controlled with their de facto figurehead being President Joseph Iléo. The moderates are a coalition of Progressives, Pan-Africanists and Social-Liberals. The MNC-Lumumbist camp is the made of people completely loyal to Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. The Lumumbists are generally further left leaning than the moderates with stances such as Democratic-Socialism, Left-Wing Nationalism, African Socialism and Lumumbist Socialism.

The second political party with the second highest number of seats is the Congolais Unité Solidarité (Congolese United Solidarity) led by Justin Bomboko. The CUS serves as a more centrist opposition to the MNC. Its views include: Centrism, Liberal Conservatism, Social-Conservatism, Regionalism.

The final main party is the Parti Révolutionnaire Populaire du Congo (Popular Revolution Party of the Congo) led by Christophe Gbenye is a big tent radical leftist party that supports a move towards the Internationale. The PRPC's views include Socialism, Bukharinism, Pan-Africanism, Marxist-Leninism, Bolshevikism, Maoism, Chinese Socialism, Stalinism, and Christian Socialism.

Besides the 3 major parties there are numerous regional parties and smaller parties. Some of these parties are the Association du Uni du Kivu (Kivu People's Association), Convention Nationale Congolaise (Congolese National Convention)(CONACO), Bloc National Ngala (Bloc National Ngala), and Association des Patriotes Congolais (Association of Congolese Patriots).

## Foreign Policy

The Republic of North Congo is a founding member of the Pan-African Congress. North Congo enjoys a close regional cooperation with the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic. They also enjoy a close working relationship with the French Republic. The relationship was formed with the Franco-North Congolese Friendship Treaty on November 9th 1958. The relationship was further strengthened following the Katangan Crisis where Lumumba agreed to sign the Algiers Treaty with the French kick starting close military regional cooperation.