Paper short abstract:

I explore new forms of state-citizen interactions as they unfolded along technological innovations in the Kabila state (2002-2019). The material helps us to rethink how Kinshasa's inhabitants expressed and performed responsibilities as citizens, while at times refused to be "Kabila's subjects".

Paper long abstract:

In my presentation, I explore new forms of state-citizen interactions as they unfolded along technological innovations in the Kabila state (2002-January 2019). The material helps us to rethink how Kinois (inhabitants of Kinshasa) expressed and performed their responsibilities as citizens, while at times they refused to be "Kabila's subjects". One of the most significant political decisions that Joseph Kabila made was the introduction of the digital voting machines for the democratic elections in December 2018, which marked the end of Kabila’s regime. Yet, the technological equipment, the voting machines themselves, had been the object of protest, derision, and violent attacks throughout 2018. The voting machine was only the last of a series of technological innovations that the Kabila regime had introduced during his reign. These include the imposition of payment into bank accounts for state agents (the so-called bancarisation), the introduction of centralized software to render customs more operational and transparent (guichet unique, Cuvelier and Muamba Mimbunda 2013), and also the voting cards and surveillance cameras ("Kabila's eyes"). It is through and with these technological innovations that contemporary African leaders, such as Joseph Kabila, but also his successor Felix Tshisekedi, perform leadership and statecraft. It is also through these innovations that citizens make claims on their leaders and the state, reminding them about their duties and responsibilities towards their subjects/citizens. In sum, through technological innovations political futures are expressed, and new ways of holding leaders accountable emerge, as well as new forms of disciplining, monitoring, and contesting power.