Zimbabwean human rights historiography often assumes that pre- colonial African politics were democratic; whilst colonialism implies a total denial of human rights. It further assumes that Zimbabwean nationalism was in essence a human rights movement; and that the liberation struggle, which led to the overthrow of colonial oppression, reinstated both human rights and democracy. This, the second volume on the historical dimensions of human rights in Africa, reconsiders questions of nationalism, democracy and human rights. It asks why the first 'democratic revolution' was frustrated in Africa, despite the democratic dimensions of the early nationalist movements. It considers possible causes of the resulting post-independence authoritarianism in Zimbabwe as centralism, top-down modernisation, or 'development'; and it reviews the outcomes of a commandist state. Common themes running through the book are the ambiguities and antitheses which concepts of nationalism and democracy imply; and the delicate, but necessary balancing which discourse on majoritarian democracy and human rights is bound to produce. This in-depth historical analysis by some of Zimbabwe's leading intellectuals and academics sheds essential light on some of the conflicts, traumas and human rights dilemmas that the country is experiencing at present.

This volume explores the prehistory of human rights in Zimbabwe. It asks whether there are democratic legacies from pre-colonial polities and what limitations then existed on human rights. It also asks what colonialism contributed to the discourse of human rights and democracy despite its denial of both to Africans. Contents: pre- colonial states of Central Africa as embodiments of despotic culture; archaeological evidence of political structures; democracy and traditional political structure 1890-1999; imperial and settler hypocrisy and double standards and the denial of human rights; black elite responses to ideologies of democracy; the law courts in Rhodesia; interaction between white and black trade unionism; and the Build a Nation campaign, 1961-62.

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.

This book examines the dialectics of political liberalisation in Zimbabwe, over time, from the settler period to the late nineties. The study takes in theoretical parameters for political and economic concepts and assumptions; and provides a historical overview of settler rule, civil society reactions, and political developments 1945-1979. The author reveals stark historical continuities during this period. He argues that the post-independence state has sought, like its settler predecessor, to impose its hegemonic position by limiting the level of political space in which civil society could operate; and that corporatist structures and policies have militated against the establishment of a fully-fledged democratic society. The final chapter, which analyses structural adjustment, liberalisation, and the legacy of settler rule offers an assessment of the prospects of a lasting democratic process in Zimbabwe, and likely obstacles.

Democratic and consolidated states are taken as the model for effective rule-making and service provision. In contrast, this book argues that good governance is possible even without a functioning state.

1 The dominant discourse