ABSTRACT
This chapter studies institutional change by zooming in on what happens when new institutions created by policymakers interact with existing local institutions. It focuses on the creation of mining cooperatives in the Congolese region of northern Katanga, and examines the working of these new institutions and the implications these have had for the artisanal miners in the area. The chapter also examines how these cooperatives worked in practice, with special attention on questioning whether they did indeed represent the interests of the miners. It also focuses on mining cooperatives in the northern part of Haut-Katanga province. The chapter considers on two years of qualitative research in 2013–2014, with eight months spent in the mining site of Kisengo. It centres on the everyday interactions between cooperatives and local organisations and examines the institutional approach to crises in post-conflict areas. The chapter focuses on the role of so-called 'big men', meaning people endowed with the ability and power to command.
