Zimbabwe's trajectory : stepping forward or sliding back? / edited by Eldred V. Masunungure.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Masunungure, Eldred, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zimbabwe--History.

Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe--Politics and government--1980-.

Politics and government.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 440 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Harare : Weaver Press, 2020.

Summary:

At Independence in 1980, Julius Nyerere called Zimbabwe 'the jewel of Africa', and cautioned its new leaders not to tarnish it. Tragically, they paid no heed to Africa's esteemed elder statesmen. Arguably - and only if one ignores the carnage of Gukurahundi - the first decade was a developmental one, with resources being used prudently to benefit the formerly disadvantaged majority population. However, the 1990s witnessed a transition from a developmental to a predatory leadership which saw Zimbabwe cross the millennial line in crisis, where it has remained ever since. While many African countries have moved forward over the last three decades, Zimbabwe has gone relentlessly backwards, save for the four-year interregnum of the tripartite coalition government, 2009-2013. Virtually all development indicators point in the wrong direction and the crisis of poverty, unemployment, and the erosion of health. education and other public goods continues unabated. The imperatives of political survival and power politics supersede those of sound economics and public welfare. Moreover, unless good politics are conjoined with a sound people-first policy, the country will continue sliding downhill. Zimbabwe's Trajectory tells the story of the country's post-independence dynamics and its recent descent into becoming one of the three most unhappy countries in the world. [publisher's website].

Contents:

Intro

Title

Copyright

Contents

List of Tables and Figures

Notes on Contributors

1 Zimbabwe's Fragile Independence, 1980-2020

2 November 2017: Continuity or Rupture?

3 The July 2018 Elections in Zimbabwe: Watershed that Never Was?

4 Zimbabwe's Predatory Ruling Elite Coalition: Continuities Beyond Mugabe

5 Political Parties in Zimbabwe's Constrained Democratic Space

6 Public Opinion Before and After the July 2018 Harmonised Elections

7 Media Policy in Zimbabwe: A Mirror of Politics of the Day

8 The Security Sector: The Elephant in the Room?

9 Untangling the Gordian Knot: Zimbabwe's National Dialogue

10 Zimbabwe's Constitutional Framework

11 Dancing Around the Same Spot: The Elusive Quest for Devolution in Zimbabwe's Last Four Decades

12 The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Zimbabwe Political Question: Policy Continuity beyond Mugabe

13 Re-engagement under the 'New Dispensation': Dead in the Water?

Conclusion: Zimbabwe's Unrelenting Fragility

Appendix 1: President Emmerson Mnangagwa's first Cabinet

Appendix 2: Splits in the MDC explained

Appendix 3: Sections of the Draft ZMC in violation of the Zimbabwean Constitution.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

1779223765

9781779223760

OCLC:

1225066350