The military and democratisation in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses the continued dominance of the Zimbabwean military in the political developments in the country. It is the product of data collected through review of available literature and interviews with officials in both the public and private sectors. The article argues that the recent military intervention in electoral politics, the continuing factional wars within ZANU-PF, and the veto of parliamentary resolutions by Zimbabwe’s military largely demonstrate a regression of democracy in which the military elite’s narrow interests are cloaked in the national interest. It establishes that President Emmerson Mnangagwa assumed power in 2017 following the departure of President Robert Mugabe mostly due to pressure from the military, a force that remains the key determinant factor in who rules Zimbabwe. Consequently, the analysis concludes, the Zimbabwean military is likely to continue hamstringing democratisation as long as it remains embedded in the country’s partisan politics.