Roadblocks at the rhythm of the country: A political sociology of roadblocks in DR Congo

This Working Paper develops a political sociology of roadblocks to demonstrate how roadblocks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contribute to the production and reproduction of public authority beyond their spatial and regulatory effects and while transcending particular claimants to authority. Using a dramaturgical approach, we show how during roadblock encounters, public authority is instantaneously produced through the joint performances of roadblock agents, roadblocks and road users. Drawing on structuration theory, we show how these performances are scripted by social structures–namely, norms, discourses and power relations–which imbue them with meaning and shape the agency of those involved. Because most roadblock encounters remain within the parameters of well-defined scripts, they ultimately contribute to the reproduction rather than the transformation of the structures that script public authority in the DRC–regardless of who exercises it. Our approach offers a refined conceptualization of agency during roadblock encounters, which provides a better understanding of when and why people comply with demands made by roadblock operators and of the cumulative effects of the micro-practices enacted at roadblocks on broader sociopolitical orders. In addition, we highlight the overlooked importance of routines and the performative effects of things in studying the (re)production of public authority at roadblocks and beyond.