Frantz Fanon and the problematic of decolonization: perspectives on Zimbabwe

Abstract

The failure to achieve meaningful development by African countries, especially those that inherited relatively advanced infrastructure at independence, has remained a conundrum. Utilizing Frantz Fanon’s major writings and ideas, and other commentaries on Fanon’s work, this paper aims to expose the problem of achieving genuine development outside the dominant neoliberal paradigm. According to the government of Zimbabwe, the aim of their indigenization program is to achieve authentic national development and decolonization from British and European imperial control. By unmasking the contradictory nature of elite nationalism and the decolonization process in Zimbabwe, the paper unmasks the complexity of development outside the dominant Euro-America (corporate capitalist) paradigm. I consider the Zimbabwe case as an example of elite nationalists domesticating the neoliberal market system to achieve selfish economic aggrandizement while the rest of the population experience immizerating poverty. The emergence of the indigenous bourgeoisie among many other developments represents the ultimate fulfillment of Fanon’s prophecy. The paper argues for epistemological refocusing to achieve meaningful development and genuine decolonization.