The Global Political Agreement as a ‘Passive Revolution’: Notes on Contemporary Politics in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed between the two Movements for Democratic Change and the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) set the change for a new set of political dynamics in Zimbabwe. Although it has not transformed the coercive base of ZANU-PF's support, it has led to new battles for state power and changes in the strategies of the major political parties. The discussion below uses the great Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci's conception of the ‘passive revolution’ to understand the changes in the political economy that have marked recent Zimbabwean politics, looking in particular at the different approaches of the three parties to the GPA during this period.