Civil Society and the Party-state in Zimbabwe : Democracy, Hegemonies and Polarities

The book utilises Gramsci’s concepts of hegemony, counter-hegemony, organic intellectuals, and integral state to interrogate how modes of engagement between the state and civil society have contributed to a polarised polity in Zimbabwe, and in turn how this has impacted democratisation processes. This was achieved by analysing intra-civil society interactions and state-civil society relations, which established deep polarised relationships that can be traced back to the liberation struggle. It also interrogates ideologies that drive these polarised relations, and how, together with material benefits from donors and the party-state, these relations impact ordinary people’s modes of existence. One of the arguments that emerge from the book is that political polarisation in Zimbabwe has now morphed into an established political culture that has played a huge role in the retardation of democratic struggles. It uses ideas of entangled modernities and travelling theory to cast doubt on the belief that civil society is the ‘missing key’ in the democratisation of developing countries. Preface Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations List of Tables 1 Civil Society, State, Hegemony and Gramsci in the Modern World Introduction Uneven Modernities and Promiscuity of a Concept State, Statecraft and Its Meaning in the Developing World The Idea of (Party)State and Its Meaning in Zimbabwe Civil Society and Its Different Meanings A Gramscian Understanding of Civil Society A Modern Understanding of Civil Society in the Developing World Civil Society as Social Space in Zimbabwe: Towards a Working Definition Hegemony and Its Relationship to Civil Society Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony Organic Intellectuals and Their Role in Society Conclusion References 2 The Liberation Movement, Polarisation Culture and Civil Society in Zimbabwe Introduction Setting the Parameters for the Conception of Polarisation Historicisation of Political Polarisation in Zimbabwe The Liberation/Nationalist Movement in Zimbabwe Understanding the 1963 ZAPU—ZANU Split Polarisation and the Liberation Struggle ZAPU, ZANU and the Formation of FROLIZI (1971) Formation of ANC—Polarisation Prevails Post-Independence Relations—Liberation Movement and the State Pre-Unity Accord Period, 1980–1987 Post-Unity Agreement Relations Within the Movement War Veterans as Part of the Liberation Movement, and Polarisation ZNLWVA and ZLP War Veterans, the Party-State and Land Reform in Zimbabwe Conclusion References 3 The Party-State, Labour and Student Movements and Democratisation in Zimbabwe Introduction Discerning Possibilities in State-Civil Society Relations Four C’s Model in State-Civil Society Relations The Development of Labour Movement, and Polarisation in Zimbabwe Labour Movement Before Independence Post-Independence Development of the Labour Movement The Labour Movement, Polarisation and the Party-State Labour Movement’s Period of Militancy—1990 to 1997 ZCTU and Its Slide into Hard Opposition Politics The Emergence of the ZFTU as a Sign of Further Polarisation The Student Movement, Polarisation and the Party-State Pre-Independence Students’ Movement Post-Independence Students’ Movement Split Within the Student Movement: Formation of ZICOSU Conclusion References 4 Human Rights and the Constitutional Movement in Zimbabwe Introduction Alliance Formation and Consolidation Constitutional Movement, Constitutionalism and Democracy History of Constitutionalism in Zimbabwe The NCA and the Constitutional Commission Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) Process Human Rights Movement, Democracy and State Relations Inter-linkages and Alliance Formation—1997 to 2002 The Zimbabwe Question and Regional Solidarity Violence Against Civil Society Activists Human Rights Movement During the GNU, and Beyond Human Rights Abuses and Elections Conclusion References 5 NGOs, Local State and Communities at Subnational Level: The Case of Mangwe District Introduction NGOs and Gatekeeping in Zimbabwe Rural Intellectuals, NGOs and Subalternity Subaltern Groups and Rural Intellectuals NGO Registration and Gatekeeping in Zimbabwe NGO Operations in Rural Mangwe District Some NGOs and Their Interventions in Mangwe World Vision International Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP) Caritas Zimbabwe Practical Action Zimbabwe NGOs and Their Usefulness to Subalterns Power Dynamics, Subalternity and Domination in NGO Work Conclusion References 6 Matabeleland Question: Marginalisation, Uneven ‘Democracy’ and Exclusion Introduction What Is the Matabeleland Question? The Relationship Between a National Question and a Regional Question Organic Intellectuals and their Perspective on the Question Major Aspects of the Question: Underdevelopment and Marginalisation Case Study: Educational Outcomes in Matabeleland as a Reflection of Marginalisation Debating Answers to the Matabeleland Question Conclusion References 7 A Faltering Counter-Hegemony: Towards a Conclusion Introduction: A Democracy Without Benefits The Old Is Dying But the New Cannot Be Born Some Accomplishments by Civil Society Some Challenges that Have Impacted NGO Growth and Development Civil Society’s Dalliance with Donors and Its Impact The Question of Ideology Coalitional Politics and Its Downside Effects of an Unfair Legislative Environment Economic Collapse and Informalisation Democracy and Differentiated Understandings Conclusion References Index