Violence and Internal Ruling Party Politics in Zimbabwe (2008–2018)

Abstract

In the post-2000 years, Zimbabwe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party became locked in strong internal factional struggles, which intensified as the economy declined and president Robert Mugabe advanced in age. This chapter maintains that political violence was an important feature of these internal struggles. The violent June 2008 run-off presidential election, which is the chapter’s main focus, was emblematic of ZANU-PF’s internal uses of violence. The chapter analyses political violence in Zimbabwe in three sequential parts: the patterns and explanations for the 2008 poll violence, the subsequent low-level violence since 2008, and the violence emanating from internal ZANU-PF factional struggles. What emerges from this analysis is that violence is an important way in which internal competition in ZANU-PF is performed and there are continuities in this violence over the past decade. In addition, violence is most intense during election periods. Despite the repeated risks of violence during elections, Zimbabwe remains a relatively stable country.