The Manifesto of N'sele () was a political document issued in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(later renamed

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

) on 19 or 20 May 1967 which set out the official political stance of the

Popular Movement of the Revolution The Popular Movement of the Revolution (, Abbreviation, abbr. MPR) was the ruling political party in Zaire (known for part of its existence as the Democratic Republic of the Congo). For most of its existence, it was one-party state, the only l ...

(''Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution'', MPR), a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

which had been founded by

Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

in 1966. The manifesto was created at an MPR meeting in N'sele,

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

where it was based. The Manifesto of N'sele defined the ideological position of the MPR as a combination of " Authenticité" and "

Mobutism Mobutism () or Mobutuism () was the state ideology of Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) during the latter half of the 20th century, when it was under the one-party rule of the Popular Movement of the Revolution. Mobutism encomp ...

". It defined Mobutism as an expression of Congolese nationalism, the rejection of

tribalism Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution primarily occurred in small hunter-gatherer groups, as opposed to in larger and more recently settled agricultural societies or civilizat ...

and regionalism, and the abstract concept of "

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

". Nationalism and the affirmation of independence was essential to the document. The Manifesto of N'sele also laid out the intentions of the government which included expansion of the national government's authority, a program committed to improving labour standards, maintaining economic independence, and the creation of an "authentic nationalism".Simpson, Andrew. Language and Nationality in Africa. Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. 228 It legitimized the creation of a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

in the country as an

antipolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased pos ...

means to end the political and ideological infighting which had characterised the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...

(1960–65). Importantly in the context of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the Manifesto of N'sele repudiated both

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

as not "authentic" Congolese ideologies. It called for a policy of "positive neutralism" in

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * (Illustrated edition.)
Manifesto of N'sele (Only English Translation)
{{Authority control 1967 documents 1967 in politics 1967 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo African and Black nationalism in Africa Congolese nationalism (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Political manifestos Zaire