The Consequences of Violent Politics in Norton, Zimbabwe

Alexander, Jocelyn; Chitofiri, Kudakwashe

doi:10.1080/00358533.2010.530410

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The electoral violence of 2008 brought about a rupture in social relations, rendering friends and neighbours 'unknowable' as communities were torn apart by partisan loyalties. 73 With the collapse of the economy, strategies for survival directed many Zimbabweans into a broad variety of short-term strategies for survival through all manner of street hustling. 74 Furthermore, the crisis in urban governance has thrown into stark relief the rapid undermining of Zimbabwe's bureaucracies through the politicization of state institutions and displacement of technical expertise.…”

Section: Dr Simukai Chigudumentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of cholera, crisis and citizenship in urban Zimbabwe: ‘People were dying like flies’

Chigudu¹

2019

African Affairs

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Zimbabwe’s catastrophic cholera outbreak of 2008/09 resulted in an unprecedented 100,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths. In the aftermath of the epidemic, questions of suffering and death and of rescue, relief, and rehabilitation have persisted in on-going processes of meaning-making through which people come to terms with the epidemic as a ‘man-made’ disaster. Based on extensive fieldwork, I examine the views of residents in Harare’s high-density townships that were epicentres of the disease. I argue that cholera was experienced by township residents as many crises at the same time. It was not only a public health crisis but also a political–economic crisis, a social crisis as well as a crisis of expectations, history and social identity. As such, I argue that the cholera outbreak was intensely generative of political subjectivities that reveal important shifts in the fraught relations between state and society in Zimbabwe’s urban politics. Finally, I argue that the government’s perceived causal role in, and failure to respond to, the cholera outbreak occasioned intense public outrage among township residents, which speaks to a much deeper aspiration for substantive citizenship based on political rights, social recognition, and access to high-quality public services delivered by a robust, responsible state.

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Section: Dr Simukai Chigudumentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of cholera, crisis and citizenship in urban Zimbabwe: ‘People were dying like flies’

Chigudu¹

2019

African Affairs

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“…The emphasis here is on how former President Robert Mugabe and his political party thrived on violence against their political rivalry. This is also underscored by some scholars who argue that Mugabe and his ZANU‐PF henchmen have never peacefully coexisted with opposition parties since independence in 1980 (see Alexander & Chitofiri, 2010). In fact, ZANU‐PF approached the opposition political parties and anyone who opposed them as enemies to be annihilated (Muzondidya, 2009).…”

Section: Conceptualizing Youth Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, the urban markets in Harare were only allowed to function through the deployment of a violent patronage network system. Consequently, in the context of political and economic crisis, ZANU‐PF's coercive patronage systems strongly mediated people's livelihoods in and even beyond the city (see Alexander & Chitofiri, 2010; McGregor, 2013; Nyamunda & Mukwambo, 2012). Hence, we assert that Mugabe and his party members thrived on political reciprocities which helped to sediment political relationships.…”

Section: Conceptualizing Youth Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Youth Political Mobilization: Violence, Intimidation, and Patronage in Zimbabwe

Maringira

Gukurume

2021

Political Psychology

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In this article, we argue that the "making" and deployment of political violence can be construed as hard work, in which political elites mobilize those from below to sustain their positions through the mobilization and doing of violence against perceived opposition political parties and or individuals. The article examines the ways in which former President Robert Mugabe instrumentalized his political relationship with his clients as a tool of political mobilization and perpetrating political violence in urban spaces where his electoral support base had dwindled. We argue that one of the remarkable ways in which Mugabe was able to remain in power for three decades was through his ability to creatively transform his influence and political position into a source of opportunities for his political clients, in particular the youth. We, therefore, assert that Mugabe extended and maintained his political patrimonial relationship with youths who did the work of political violence for him and his ZANU-PF party. The mobilization of youth political violence is therefore an "art of governing" from below. This article is based on ethnographic data collected between 2016 and 2017 from youth in Harare. We conducted in-depth interviews, life-history interviews, observations, and informal conversations with youth in Harare city, Zimbabwe.

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“…Indeed, Alexander and Chitofiri argue that the IG provoked a shift away from the prior ethos of solidarity among marginalised MDC-T urban youth, towards the view that MDC-T, now in power, should pay back its activists in material terms. 58 Councillors emphasised the huge problem of "over expectation". One councillor elaborated:…”

Section: Recentralised Politicised and Securitised Local Authoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surveillance and the City: Patronage, Power-Sharing and the Politics of Urban Control in Zimbabwe

McGregor

2013

Journal of Southern African Studies

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The Consequences of Violent Politics in Norton, Zimbabwe

Cited by 21 publications

References 6 publications

The politics of cholera, crisis and citizenship in urban Zimbabwe: ‘People were dying like flies’

The politics of cholera, crisis and citizenship in urban Zimbabwe: ‘People were dying like flies’

Youth Political Mobilization: Violence, Intimidation, and Patronage in Zimbabwe

Surveillance and the City: Patronage, Power-Sharing and the Politics of Urban Control in Zimbabwe

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