The author further proposes that this recourse to political violence, "top-down" nationalism, and the abandonment of urban democratic traditions are all hallmarks of a particular type of nationalism equally unsustainable in Zimbabwe then as it is now."--BOOK JACKET.

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.

Three years after the advent of Zimbabwes Inclusive Government in February 2009, the country still awaits the elections that people hope will lead to a more enduring political settlement. Zimbabwe: Mired in Transition reviews the experience of recent years assesses the progress that has been made. What is the public mood, and how has it changed? What steps have been taken to reform the media? How important is a new constitution. Although the economy has stabilised to some extent with the adoption of a multi-currency regime, industrial and agricultural production are depressed, and investment inflows are limited; what spaces exist for fiscal reform? Are local authority structures and the state bureaucracy equipped to handle the tasks that will ne asked of them? In terms of two important areas, the book extends its analysis further back than 2009. First, is the issue of emigration. Estimates of the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora range from three to four million; what impact us this having on national development, and to what extent might the trend of migration be reversed? The second concerns young people, the chapter on which concludes: We already have a lost generation - those who were once called the born frees. Unless positive changes are made, we will still have another. This collection of eleven essays examines in detail some of the pressing questions which Zimbabweans must ask as they chart a way forward.

Journalism, Democracy, and Human Rights in Zimbabwe provides an empirical analysis of Zimbabwe’s ongoing state of affairs. Bruce Mutsvairo and Cleophas T. Muneri examine the intersection between journalism, democracy, and human rights to historicize and critique past successes and failures that have played out in Zimbabwe’s past, as well as interrogate future challenges that await the nation’s quest for democratization. The authors examine what role citizen journalists, human rights activists, professional journalists, and social media dissents could potentially play toward ending the country’s current adversity. Scholars of journalism, media studies, communication, African studies, and political science will find this book particularly useful.

The Democratic Coup d'État advances a simple, yet controversial, argument: democracy sometimes comes through a military coup. Covering coups that toppled dictators and installed democratic rule in countries as diverse as Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, and Colombia, the book weaves a balanced narrative that challenges everything we knew about military coups.