This book examines under which conditions chieftaincies can play a key role in the democratic and decentralization initiatives aiming at increasing Congolese states legitimacy and efficiency. The author applies to the Congo Dele Olowus analysis of the four dimensions of decentralization -political, economic, administrative and financial. He comes to questioning the decentralization rhetoric in the political leaders discourse, in light of the legislation that has been actually applied from the colonial period until now. He shows the parallel between the colonial and the...