The International Politics of Survival: The Case of Mugabe's Staying Power

Abstract

Despite Zimbabwe's economic and political system having been in freefall since 2000, by the elections of 2008, and even now in 2011, the country's president, Robert Mugabe, still managed (and manages) to rally support from portions of the population. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change garnered much international and domestic support, but it took until February 2009 to get Mugabe to share power. Puzzling too for Western observers was the reluctance of African states, especially South Africa, to push Mugabe to abide by democratic norms until late in the game, threatening new initiatives by the African Union and in southern Africa. This article explores the strategies that Mugabe used until a few years ago to play foreign and domestic actors and contexts off each other in order to maintain total control. The need for an approach that bridges the domestic-foreign policy theoretical divide is illustrated by how such an approach can deepen our understanding of the Zimbabwe case.