Decolonizing International Relations: Insights from the International Financial Institutions in the Congo During the Cold War

Abstract

The history of classical IR discourse and the construct of “development” continues to frame Western perceptions of African states and societies. This chapter will look at IR critiques of how the Congo and Western countries pursued their geopolitical aims towards each other through the international financial institutions (IFIs) during the Cold War. It will show how classical IR takes the meaning of development categories for granted, and how these categories justify intervention in developing countries. A more critical approach suggests that for the West, Cold War intervention in the Congo was not only in the interest of maintaining an anti-Communist ally but it was also in the interest of promoting a global liberal economic ideology. The chapter will conclude by suggesting that IR be decolonized by becoming more inclusive, questioning its assumptions, and putting critical approaches at the center of theory.