Luca Percalli

The project aims to analyze the secession of South Kasai, a central but still weakly researched episode within the broader Congo crisis of the early 1960s. In doing so, the research will strive to consider both the neo-colonial aspects and the distinctly local factors of the Kasaian issue.
On one hand, by analyzing the extensive support provided to the secession by Belgian authorities, the major diamond companies active in the area, and the promoters of the other Congolese secession—that of Katanga—the project intends to contribute to the debate on the neo-colonial elements of the crisis. On the other hand, in light of the crucial role played by local actors, the project aims to contribute to the important debate on African agency. In fact, two of the most important reasons behind the secession are to be found in interethnic tensions and in the power struggles at the top for access to political power and resources.
Overall, the research activity aims to shed light on an episode that is still little known but nonetheless central to the turbulent post-colonial period in Congo, and through this, to improve the understanding of one of the most significant political crises of the 1960s—a crisis so important that it produced lasting and profound effects not only within Congolese borders, but also at the regional and international levels.