Zimbabwe

Final Days - the Decay of Robert Mugabe's Personal Rule in Zimbabwe

by Rhoderick Miller

Opinion paper

Mugabe is always said to be dying. Sometimes it is said more fervently, as if wishing it will make it so. Whenever... more Mugabe is always said to be dying. Sometimes it is said more fervently, as if wishing it will make it so. Whenever Mugabe is seen visiting his “dentist” in Singapore, his “daughter” in China, or “having a holiday” in Malaysia he must be dying. Each time that the rumour mill has cried wolf, each time that the whispering becomes fantasising, the event has meant less, and Mugabe has become less real, less human, less mortal.

Emerging Patterns and Trends in Citizen Journalism in Africa: A Case of Zimbabwe

by Simon Columbus

Mutsvairo, B. & Columbus, S. (2012). Emerging Patterns and Trends in Citizen Journalism in Africa: A Case of Zimbabwe. Central European Journal of Communication 5(1), 123-137.

While it has generally been accepted that non-professional media actors empowered by novel digitally networked... more While it has generally been accepted that non-professional media actors empowered by novel digitally networked technologies are changing the media landscape in the West, this is less obvious in the case of sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years, however, have seen the emergence of a diverse range of citizen media in Africa, enabled by technologies such as mobile phones, blogs, micro blogs, video-sharing platforms and mapping. rough in-depth and focus-group interviews with selected experts and citizen journalism practitioners, as well as a review of the existing body of research, this study aims to identify emerging patterns and trends in African citizen journalism, paying particular attention to the Zimbabwean case. The research hopes to establish the notion that digital technology-enabled citizen journalism, although still restricted to a subset of African countries, provides a powerful counter-narrative to professional media that are often constrained, or even controlled, by national governments.

History and Culture of Zimbabwe

by Maggie Wood

Paper I wrote as a freshman about the history and culture of Zimbabwe. Not relevant to me at this point in my studies, but could be of interest to someone, I suppose.

Microfinance Model in Zimbabwe paper

by Toindepi Toindepi

Civil society, housing and urban governance: The case of urban housing co-operatives in Zimbabwe

by Amin Y. Kamete

Hanging out with "Trouble-Causers": Planning and Governance in Urban Zimbabwe

by Amin Y. Kamete

Published in Urban Studies

Taking the relational nature of participatory governance as a point of departure, this paper interrogates the... more Taking the relational nature of participatory governance as a point of departure, this paper interrogates the attitude, behaviour and thinking of planners in urban Zimbabwe. Particular emphasis is placed on the planners' interaction with the public. The discussion analyses one city's planning system as it implements an ambitious “governance outreach programme” which involves interacting with youths who are using public space illegally. The central argument of the paper is that it is difficult to operationalise participatory governance in planning mainly because the relational nature of governance requires planners to act in ways that conflict with their preferred role as technical experts. The discussion exposes how pointless it can be for bureaucrats to interact with the public, when the participants' attitude, means, behaviour and style express no confidence in the institutional framework. The paper suggests that the transformation from government to governance is not merely procedural, and requires a deep cultural change on the part of planners.

The Role of Relevant Basic Education in Achieving Food Security and Sustainable Rural Development

by Tom Vandenbosch

Review of Hamilton Wende, House of War. Johannesburg: Penguin. Pp. 266. ISBN: 978-0-14302-609-9 pbk. ZAR181.00. Scholia Reviews ns 19 (2010) 30.

by Alex Nice

Network Effects and Land Redistribution: A Natural Experiment in Zimbabwe

by Tara McIndoe-Calder

The paper investigates whether positive network eff ects may have existed between large-scale commercial farmers and... more The paper investigates whether positive network effects may have existed between large-scale commercial farmers and small-scale communal farmers prior to the recent land redistribution in Zimbabwe. A difference-in-difference approach is used where measurement is carried out using several data sources including farm level, geographic and survey information for cotton farmers in Mashonaland Central. It tests whether the removal of large-scale farmers has resulted in a decline in productivity for those small-scale farmers close to redistributed land as compared to those located at greater distances from large-scale/commercial farms. A signicant negative productivity effect is found in addition to a country-wide negative redistribution effect. The latter is most likely due to wider economic and political instability over the last 10 years.

LOST DECADES: POSTCOLONIAL IRELAND AND ZIMBABWE

by Tara McIndoe-Calder

Draft
Co-Authored with Frank Barry and Patrick Honohan

This paper discusses the slow and hesitant integration of two post-colonial states into the global economy. One is... more This paper discusses the slow and hesitant integration of two post-colonial states into the global economy. One is Ireland, which achieved independence in 1922, but which suffered many setbacks before finding its place at the productive frontier in the 1990s. The other is Zimbabwe, which severed its colonial ties in 1965 but achieved proper independence only in 1980. The struggles over land ownership in Zimbabwe – and the errors in trade policy, fiscal discipline and even financial policy – have parallels, more or less close, with the longer and ultimately more successful history of Irish independence. Adverse historical legacies can be overcome.

Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe: Money Demand, Seigniorage and Aid Shocks

by Tara McIndoe-Calder

Zimbabwe has recently experienced record hyperinflation of 80 billion percent a month. This paper uses new data from... more Zimbabwe has recently experienced record hyperinflation of 80 billion percent a month. This paper uses new data from Zimbabwe to investigate money demand under hyperinflation using an autoregressive distributed-lag model for the period 1980-2008. The results produce plausible convergence rates and long-run elasticities, indicating that real money balances are cointegrated with the inflation rate signifying an equilibrium relationship between the two series. Evidence is also presented that suggests prices are being driven by increases in the money supply rather than by changes in price setting behaviour. The paper additionally uses the estimated elasticity on the inflation variable to calculate the maximum level of seigniorage revenue that could be raised in the economy. Actual seigniorage levels increased dramatically after 2000, with inflation eventually exceeding the rate required to maximize this revenue stream. This is discussed in relation to international nancing constraints and the collapse of the domestic tax base.

Urban Zimbabwean mothers' choices and perceptions of care for young children

by Deborah J. Johnson

Abstract
Parental perceptions of quality preschool care and school choice patterns were assessed among 51... more Abstract
Parental perceptions of quality preschool care and school choice patterns were assessed among 51 working mothers in urban Zimbabwe. Mothers of preschool aged children were administered face-to-face interviews. Mothers articulated their perceptions of what constitutes quality preschool care. Their responses were grouped into 10 categories; the most frequently articulated categories were (a) good food/diet, (b) hygiene, and (c) qualified teachers. Variations were found by income, occupation, and child care options. Although 67% of the mothers had a child attending preschool, primary child care was said to be fulfilled by female domestics or relatives. Preschool was perceived as an extension of formal education, not child care. Parental goals in the selection of preschools were also analyzed utilizing the Slaughter and Schneider (1986) model of school choice. Six typologies or goal types that reflected parent-centered or child-centered motivations for preschool choice were identified. Most mothers were child-centered in their goals for their preschool children. Eighty percent of parents were categorized by three goal types: Deliberate, Humanistic, and Practical. The distribution of goal types varied by family income and child care options.

Integrity ofProcess: How Tree of Life Is Taking Root in Zimbabwe

by Sara Templer

Briefing published in 'Africa Peace and Conflict Journal' (December 2010) Vol. 3 No. 2. pp. 106-112.

Water Scarcity in Zimbabwe

by Ednah Bashoma-Zvinavashe

When masculinity interferes with women's treatment of HIV infection: A qualitative study about adherence to antiretroviral therapy in Zimbabwe

by Morten Skovdal

Journal of the International AIDS Society 14: 29 (9 June 2011)

Masculinity as a barrier to men's use of HIV services in Zimbabwe

by Morten Skovdal

Globalisation and Health 7:13 (15 May, 2011)

Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflicts in Southern Africa

by Florian Krampe

Global Crisis Solutions: Pretoria. (2011). Co-authored with Ashok Swain, Ranjula Bali Swain, Anders Themnér.

This study aims to identify regions in the Zambezi River Basin in Southern Africa that are prone to risk of violent... more This study aims to identify regions in the Zambezi River Basin in Southern Africa that are prone to risk of violent conflicts (collective violence, popular unrest) induced by climatic changes/variability. The Zambezi River is 575 kilometres long and the basin covers eight countries: Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Mo- zambique and Namibia.Besides the ecological impact, the study argues that socio-economic and political problems are disproportionately multiplied by climate change/variability. Climate change/variability amplifies stresses on the socio-political fabric because it affects the governance of resources, and hence, is linked to the weakened mitigation and adaptation capacity of societies, that are already facing economic challenges (rising food prices, etc.). Society becomes highly vulnerable to climate induced conflicts when it suffers from poor central leadership, weak institutions and polarized social identities. Taking all these factors into consideration, this study identifies Bulawayo/Matableleland-North in Zimbabwe and the Zambezia Province in Mozambique as the most likely regions to experience climate induced conflicts in the near future. The reasons for arriving at this conclusion are: a) Climatechange/variability will have a significant impact on these two regions; due to increasing water scarcity in Bulawayo/Matabeleland- North; and intensified flooding, sea-level rise, and costal erosion in the Zambezia Province. b) Due to climate change/variability, agricultural production in these two regions will become highly volatile, leading to severe food insecurity. c) Both regions are suffering from low quality political governance, having unscrupulous elites, weak institutions, and polarized social identities.

Comic Strips and “the Crisis”: Postcolonial Laughter and Coping With Everyday Life in Zimbabwe

by Wendy Willems

Published in: In: Popular Communication 9(2): 126-145, 2011.

In African Studies, political cartoons and comic strips have frequently been analyzed in relation to concepts of power... more In African Studies, political cartoons and comic strips have frequently been analyzed in relation to concepts of power and resistance and considered as ways in which those subject to power challenge the rulers (Mason, 2002; Mbembe, 2001; Nyamnjoh, 2009). To a certain extent, these studies have reflected the wider debate on the role of humor in the relation between rulers and ruled in the postcolony. In media and cultural studies, scholars have analyzed comics primarily as ideological texts which offer a particular framing of reality. Drawing on the Zimbabwean comic strip Chikwama, which was published in the Zimbabwean privately owned newspaper The Daily News in the early 2000s, this article argues that postcolonial laughter does not always address those in power, but humor may also point fingers at those subject to power in an attempt to make readers cope with the tragic events unfolding around them. Laughter frequently adopts a self-reflexive mode through which those subject to power mock their own powerlessness and lack of agency in the face of a system that they perceive as immutable. Furthermore, the strip Chikwama also highlights how media discourse came to reflect the way in which politics slowly invaded the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans, hereby reinforcing the importance of treating media texts as embedded in broader social discourses. The comic strip Chikwama did not only replicate the particular institutional ideology of The Daily News but also mirrored the way in which ordinary Zimbabweans negotiated the social and economic impact of the crisis on an everyday basis.

Unions Without Comrades: Democratisation, Structural Adjustment and the Labour Movement In Zimbabwe

by Franco Barchiesi

Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions: everyday forms of resistance during the ‘Zimbabwe crisis’

by Wendy Willems

Published in: Communicare 29, Special Edition, September 2010: 1-17.

In the context of the ‘Zimbabwe crisis’ of the early 2000s, both popular and academic accounts frequently discussed... more In the context of the ‘Zimbabwe crisis’ of the early 2000s, both popular and academic accounts frequently discussed Zimbabweans as passive victims of their government, hereby suggesting that the extensive efforts of the state to create a ‘patriotic’ citizenry through the cultural project of the Third Chimurenga were largely successful. This article argues that the absence of physical protests in the streets should not be equalled to an absence of resistance. By adopting a narrow focus on the forms of resistance associated with dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions, journalists and scholars neglected the everyday forms of resistance through which Zimbabweans sought to challenge the state such as popular humour and rumour. These nascent forms of resistance could have been drawn upon in a more sustained way by the political opposition and civil society in order to provoke political change.