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The socio-economic and political conditions in Zimbabwe have been declining for years, but on March 11, 2007, they seemed to take a dramatic turn for the worse. Against these worsening conditions, USIP convened a public meeting to discuss the triggers leading to the March 2007 crackdown, the changes within the political parties in Zimbabwe, the challenges facing civil society organizations (CSOs), and the public’s response to past political violence.
This report examines the obstacles to change and considers the roles of key domestic actors, their strategies, and their interests in a new Zimbabwe. It assesses the current mechanisms for change and potential outcomes.
What are the national, regional and international consequences of recent electoral violence in Zimbabwe? What triggered the outbreak? Read more from Senior Research Associate Dorina Bekoe.
Latest from USIP on Zimbabwe
- April 26, 2013 | Publication
Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa discusses her struggle to defend peace activists, opposition candidates, journalists and ordinary citizens arrested and prosecuted by the government of Robert Mugabe.
- November 9, 2012 | News Releases
Eighteen African countries held presidential, primary, or legislative elections in 2011. Eleven of these experienced violence that ranged from low-level intimidation and harassment to violent displacement and death. In “Voting in Fear: Electoral Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa,” a new volume published by the United States Institute of Peace, editor Dorina Bekoe and nine contributors address the causes of electoral violence and strategies for preventing it.
- January 25, 2012 | Publication
Civilian health, health care workers, and health facilities disproportionately suffer in countries experiencing severe instability, but global health donors have yet to make developing health systems in such states a priority. Doing so could both make populations healthier and contribute to state legitimacy.
- January 11, 2012 | Publication
Over the past several decades, dozens of countries have established truth commissions and other bodies to investigate mass atrocities or systematic human rights abuse. Lessons learned from past truth-finding processes are invaluable to help address the legacies of human rights violations in countries transitioning to democratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa and elsewhere.
After a Memorandum of Understanding in July 2008 between MDC and ZANU-PF laid out the conditions for further engagement, a final political agreement was reached in August 2008. The powersharing agreement retains Mugabe as president, while Tsvangirai is named as prime minister. After a prolonged disagreement over the apportioning of cabinet positions between MDC and ZANU-PF, in February 2009 Tsvengirai was officially sworn in as prime minister.
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Although the political and economic situations in Zimbabwe have been deteriorating for nearly a decade, they have experienced their most dramatic downturns in recent years. Today, Zimbabweans face inflation rates of more than 165,000 percent and shortage-inducing price controls, the political opposition is marginalized and intimidated, and President Robert Mugabe continues to avoid regional criticism of human rights abuses and political and economic mismanagement. Regional experts estimate that nearly 3 million Zimbabweans have fled to neighboring countries, with the majority going to South Africa. Those remaining behind face increasing economic hardship and political intimidation. The failure to publish the results of the March 2008 general elections in a timely manner resulted in a further political stalemate.
Since Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC did not obtain more than 50% (according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission), a run-off was held in June 2008. The run-off was preceded by violence on such a large scale that Tsvangirai pulled out of the runoffelection. However, the violent tactics employed by ZANU-PF caused an otherwise silent region and continent to begin to seriously engage Zimbabwe and demand a resolution to the political instability. Almost immediately following the run-off, Thabo Mbeki began a bid to forge a political agreement between MDC and ZANU-PF.
After a Memorandum of Understanding in July 2008 between MDC and ZANU-PF laid out the conditions for further engagement, a final political agreement was reached in August 2008. The powersharing agreement retains Mugabe as president, while Tsvangirai is named as prime minister. After a prolonged disagreement over the apportioning of cabinet positions between MDC and ZANU-PF, in February 2009 Tsvengirai was officially sworn in as prime minister.
The Institute's engagement aims to document the efforts and roles of the key civil society groups in Zimbabwe and the region that are working to promote a negotiated solution to the crisis; support civil society efforts to resolve the crisis; and work with regional and diaspora groups to prevent or reduce conflict caused by the growing number of Zimbabwean refugees.