CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Brisibe, Jayna Lee |
|---|---|
| Title | The Scramble for African Cobalt: How Sustainable Development Perpetuates Neocolonial Motives through Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Summary | This thesis aims to answer the question “Is cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) an agent of sustainable development?" by critically examining the intersection of cobalt mining practices, human rights violations, and the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable development is often approached from the standpoint of developing society in a way that benefits the planet. Cobalt is a critical mineral used in the development of renewable energy, which mining often involves human rights violations. Applying dependency theory and the concept of neocolonialism, this thesis argues that mining in the DRC cannot be an agent of sustainable development because it benefits from exploitation, which stems from Belgium's colonial rule and Mobutu’s regime. Evidence suggests that MNCs are agents of neocolonialism due to the need to amass wealth at the expense of Congolese people. It demonstrates the inability of the DRC to emancipate itself from a colonial cycle that is perpetuated by the incursion of MNCs and by the ruling elites for personal gain. Carried out through qualitative desktop research using secondary sources, this adds to a larger body of literature addressing human rights concerns surrounding the exploitation of Congolese people and their land for cobalt in the name of sustainable development and acknowledges that the current system of governance and society in the DRC is based on colonial motives that are invisible to those not willing to look. |
| Supervisor | Large, Daniel |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/brisibe_jayna.pdf |
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