A blog for POLS 209, Dictatorships and Revolutions, at Victoria University of Wellington. A place for students to talk and think about political pathologies all over the world. This is our other blog - see also here
Thursday, 15 August 2019
One year on: What has changed for Zimbabwe post Mugabe?
According to many in Zimbabwe the country is in far worse shape under Mnangagwa's leadership than it was under Mugabe's.
Its interesting that quite often the media and outsiders see the removal of an undemocratic leader, such as Mugabe, to mean overall success and change in a country. I think quite often we focus too much on the leader, giving impetus for their change, rather than the systems and institutions that are in place that let an undemocratic leader flourish. Mnangagwa in the article is said to be more brutal than Mugabe, but the removal of Mugabe was initially celebrated, especially by those outside of Zimbabwe. Without long term systemic change in Zimbabwe, the institutions that allowed one dictator to flourish will likely let any other dictator flourish as well.
Its interesting that quite often the media and outsiders see the removal of an undemocratic leader, such as Mugabe, to mean overall success and change in a country. I think quite often we focus too much on the leader, giving impetus for their change, rather than the systems and institutions that are in place that let an undemocratic leader flourish. Mnangagwa in the article is said to be more brutal than Mugabe, but the removal of Mugabe was initially celebrated, especially by those outside of Zimbabwe. Without long term systemic change in Zimbabwe, the institutions that allowed one dictator to flourish will likely let any other dictator flourish as well.
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