EU sanctions on Zimbabwe: rethinking Africa’s economic and political security in the global age

Abstract

ABSTRACT The sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the European Union in 2002 help demonstrate how postcolonialism functions in the international system. A corpus of literature has emerged on how these sanctions have harmed the economy and jeopardised the lives and livelihoods of the people, sanction effectiveness, and also on how Zimbabwe can navigate them. There remain gaps in empirically contextualising the imposition of the sanctions apart from the common narrative of human rights abuses. This article uses purposive document analysis to analyse Zimbabwe-European Union relations with a view to try to unpack the complexities of the relationship between these two blocs. It shows that the inconsistent relationship goes beyond human rights abuses. The ideology of postcolonialism helps in explaining the embedded conflict between Africa and Europe. When the interests of the centre are threatened, the backlash is severe as was the case with Zimbabwe.