The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe

The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe PDF

Author: Blessing-Miles Tendi

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-01-16

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1108472893

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An essential biographical record of General Solomon Mujuru, one of the most controversial figures within the history of African liberation politics.

The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe

The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe PDF

Author: Blessing-Miles Tendi

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-03-24

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781108460729

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An illustrious African liberation fighter in the 1970s and, until his suspicious death in 2011, an important figure in Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party in Zimbabwe, this first full-length biography of General Solomon Mujuru or Rex Nhongo throws much needed light onto the opaque elite politics of the 1970s liberation struggle, post-independence army and ZANU PF. Based on the unparalleled primary interviews with informants in the army, intelligence services, police and ZANU PF elites, Blessing-Miles Tendi examines Mujuru's moments of triumph and his shortcomings in equal measure. From his undistinguished youth and poor upbringing in colonial Rhodesia's Chikomba region, his rapid rise to power, and role as the first black commander of independent Zimbabwe's national army, this is an essential record of one of the most controversial figures within the history of African liberation politics.

Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe

Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe PDF

Author: Godfrey Maringira

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-12-13

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 9781032241104

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This book explores the barrack experiences of soldiers in post-independence Zimbabwe, examining the concept of military professionalism within a state in political crisis. Drawing upon interviews with former soldiers of the Zimbabwe National Army, Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe casts a light on the oppression of soldiers by commanders who sought to repress and control the political thinking of their men. By contextualising the political, economic and material conditions in which Zimbabwean soldiers existed, Godfrey Maringira reveals the everyday victimisation and violence of the barracks. Exploring such events as the imposition of the Defence Act, the desertion of soldiers, and the 2017 military coup in Zimbabwe, the book presents and discusses the politicised nature of the military in post-independence Zimbabwe, and the political consequences of service in a state in deep political crisis. Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe will be of interest to scholars and students of African Politics, military and security studies, and African studies.

The Democratic Coup D'état

The Democratic Coup D'état PDF

Author: Ozan O. Varol

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 019062602X

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The term coup d'état--French for stroke of the state--brings to mind coups staged by power-hungry generals who overthrow the existing regime, not to democratize, but to concentrate power in their own hands as dictators. We assume all coups look the same, smell the same, and present the same threats to democracy. It's a powerful, concise, and self-reinforcing idea. It's also wrong. In The Democratic Coup d'État, Ozan Varol advances a simple, yet controversial, argument: Sometimes, a democracy is established through a military coup. Covering events from the Athenian Navy's stance in 411 B.C. against a tyrannical home government, to coups in the American colonies that ousted corrupt British governors, to twentieth-century coups that toppled dictators and established democracy in countries as diverse as Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, and Colombia, the book takes the reader on a gripping journey. Connecting the dots between these neglected events, Varol weaves a balanced narrative that challenges everything we thought we knew about military coups. In so doing, he tackles several baffling questions: How can an event as undemocratic as a military coup lead to democracy? Why would imposing generals-armed with tanks and guns and all-voluntarily surrender power to civilian politicians? What distinguishes militaries that help build democracies from those that destroy them? Varol's arguments made headlines across the globe in major media outlets and were cited critically in a public speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Written for a general audience, this book will entertain, challenge, and provoke, but more importantly, serve as a reminder of the imperative to question the standard narratives about our world and engage with all ideas, no matter how controversial.

Power Politics in Zimbabwe

Power Politics in Zimbabwe PDF

Author: Michael Bratton

Publisher:

Published: 2015-10-07

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 9781626373884

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Zimbabwe¿s July 2013 election brought the country¿s ¿inclusive¿ power-sharing interlude to an end and installed Mugabe and ZANU-PF for yet another¿its seventh¿term. Why? What explains the resilience of authoritarian rule in Zimbabwe? Tracing the country¿s elusive search for political stability across the decades, Michael Bratton offers a careful analysis of the failed power-sharing experiment, an account of its institutional origins, and an explanation of its demise. In the process, he explores key challenges of political transition: constitution making, elections, security-sector reform, and transitional justice.

Twenty Years of Independence in Zimbabwe

Twenty Years of Independence in Zimbabwe PDF

Author: S. Darnolf

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-01-13

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1403948127

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This collection offers comprehensive insights into pivotal areas of concern regarding developments in Zimbabwe since its independence. By disclosing the intra-elite competition, assessing the performance of Zimbabwe's economy and explaining how the country's natural resources have been managed, we can better understand the ruling ZANU-PF's increasing reliance on the so-called war veterans and the land reform issue for its political survival.

A History of Zimbabwe

A History of Zimbabwe PDF

Author: Alois S. Mlambo

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-04-07

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1139867520

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The first single-volume history of Zimbabwe with detailed coverage from pre-colonial times to the present, this book examines Zimbabwe's pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial social, economic and political history and relates historical factors and trends to recent developments in the country. Zimbabwe is a country with a rich history, dating from the early San hunter-gatherer societies. The arrival of British imperial rule in 1890 impacted the country tremendously, as the European rulers exploited Zimbabwe's resources, giving rise to a movement of African nationalism and demands for independence. This culminated in the armed conflict of the 1960s and 1970s and independence in 1980. The 1990s were marked by economic decline and the rise of opposition politics. In 1999, Mugabe embarked on a violent land reform program that plunged the nation's economy into a downward spiral, with political violence and human rights violations making Zimbabwe an international pariah state. This book will be useful to those studying Zimbabwean history and those unfamiliar with the country's past.

The Zimbabwe African People's Union, 1961-87

The Zimbabwe African People's Union, 1961-87 PDF

Author: Eliakim M. Sibanda

Publisher: Africa World Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9781592212767

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This book is an exploration of the political history of insurgency in SOuthern Rhodesia. During the early years of its struggle, ZAPU employed non-violent means to try and achieve its goal for majority rule and a non-racial society. Because of the belligerancy of the White settler regime, ZAPU added the armed resistance to its strategy and went on to build a formidable army. Problems escalated and alliances were built and dissolved until, tired of being hunted down and butchered, the ZAPU leadership decided to merge its party with the ruling party in December 1987.

Fighting and Writing

Fighting and Writing PDF

Author: Luise White

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2021-02-08

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1478021284

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In Fighting and Writing Luise White brings the force of her historical insight to bear on the many war memoirs published by white soldiers who fought for Rhodesia during the 1964–1979 Zimbabwean liberation struggle. In the memoirs of white soldiers fighting to defend white minority rule in Africa long after other countries were independent, White finds a robust and contentious conversation about race, difference, and the war itself. These are writings by men who were ambivalent conscripts, generally aware of the futility of their fight—not brutal pawns flawlessly executing the orders and parroting the rhetoric of a racist regime. Moreover, most of these men insisted that the most important aspects of fighting a guerrilla war—tracking and hunting, knowledge of the land and of the ways of African society—were learned from black playmates in idealized rural childhoods. In these memoirs, African guerrillas never lost their association with the wild, even as white soldiers boasted of bringing Africans into the intimate spaces of regiment and regime.

African Police and Soldiers in Colonial Zimbabwe, 1923-80

African Police and Soldiers in Colonial Zimbabwe, 1923-80 PDF

Author: Timothy Joseph Stapleton

Publisher: University Rochester Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 1580463800

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Recruiting and motivations for enlistment -- Perceptions of African security force members -- Education and upward mobility -- Camp life -- African women and the security forces -- Objections and reforms -- Travel and danger -- Demobilization and veterans.