Beyond the Colonial Hangover: Reimagining Zimbabwe's Political Future

Abstract

"Existing literature offers a detailed portrait of Zimbabwe’s internal dynamics, but tends to understate how colonial state continuity and international hierarchies structured the field in which authoritarianism unfolded. Political economy and historical accounts emphasize that Zimbabwe’s authoritarian turn was deeply rooted in internal political culture, liberation war legacies, and the breakdown of state institutions under mounting socio-economic pressures. While these explanations provide important insights into regime formation, they frequently overlook the ways colonial legacies and global power structures constrained Zimbabwe’s political transition and narrowed the range of post-independence political possibilities." (p.34)