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Description
This open access book offers the first full-length, empirical deep-dive into everyday policework in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the same time, its findings go well beyond the DRC and Africa, ultimately providing a new, startlingly nuanced theoretical framework for understanding what police practice and reform efforts tell us about states anywhere in the world.
Following officers from the classroom to the station and the street, Michel Thill offers five narrative-driven chapters rich with historical detail and thick description that show how the police force, as an institution, struggles to coordinate practice with training, coercion with persuasion and reconciliation, and the need to make ends meet with the duty to serve the public. By delving into the convoluted repercussions of police reform, Thill identifies the tensions that shape everyday policework, thereby offering new ways of thinking about police reform while offering practical guidance for practitioners and policymakers.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Bloomsbury Open Collections Library Collective.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The History: Policing Congo
The Classroom: Rise of the Congo Cop
The Station: Home of the Congo Cop
The Street: Demise of the Congo Cop
Conclusion
Product details
| Published | Jun 12 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 216 |
| ISBN | 9781350468788 |
| Imprint | Zed Books |
| Dimensions | 9 x 6 inches |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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Accessible to a wide audience of readers, this book makes a compelling and thickly described case for exploring statecraft through an understanding of police craft and for understanding the complexities of order-making in the DRC by following and taking seriously the Congo Cop.
Canadian Journal of African Studies
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A real tour de force ... Engaging and deeply informed, this work is essential reading for scholars and practitioners alike, bridging the gap between theory and lived experience with remarkable clarity, depth and empathy.
Kristof Titeca, Antwerp University, Belgium
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A crucial contribution to ethnographies of everyday policing, serving also as a prism through which to better understand the post-colonial state.
Helene Maria Kyed, Danish Institute for International Studies, Denmark
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The author's seductive style and the depth of his analysis undoubtedly ensure that this remarkable book will find an expansive audience well beyond the DRC.
Albert Malukisa Nkuku Jolino, Catholic University of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
OPEN ACCESS
Bloomsbury Open Access
Read and download this book free of charge from Bloomsbury Collections.






















