2017 Change of power in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The article examines the process of the change of power in the Republic of Zimbabwe in November 2017. The long regimen of the country's first and only president, Robert Mugabe, finally developed into a political crisis: the undercover internal party struggle aimed at resolving the successor issue came into an open phase and provoked a reshuffle in the government along with the removal of some key figures. The following purges led to the intervention of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces and the subsequent president’s resignation. The author analyzes the political situation in the country prior to the November crisis and examines the reasons for the transit of power. The author also evaluates the actions of all key players and describes in detail the course of events for the two weeks of November, starting with the dismissal of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ending with Mugabe resignation. The author shows that the actions of the army and Mnangagwa supporters were a timely coordinated tactic aimed not only at power transfer, but also at obtaining the support from other countries and international organizations. The article focuses on the issue of the legitimacy of the actions of the Zimbabwean military, which forced the president to resign, and deliberates the question of whether these events can be considered a military coup. The work shows that Mugabe ‘involuntary-unconstrained’ departure from the office became a natural result of his actions in the last years of his rule.