Contested Criminalities in Zimbabwean Fiction
Contested Criminalities in Zimbabwean Fiction

Author: Tendai Mangena

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-12-07

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0429807562

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This book addresses the ways in which writers deploy the trope of contested criminality to expose Zimbabwe's socially and politically oppressive cultures in a wide range of novels and short stories published in English between 1994 and 2016. Some of the most influential authors that are examined in this book are Yvonne Vera, Petina Gappah, NoViolet Bulawayo, Brian Chikwava, Christopher Mlalazi, Tendai Huchu and Virginia Phiri. The author uses the Zimbabwean experience to engage with critical issues facing the African continent and the world, providing a thoughtful reading of contemporary debates on illegal migration, homophobia, state criminality and gender inequalities. The thematic focus of the book represents a departure from what Schulze-Engler notes elsewhere as postcolonial discourse’s habit of suggesting that the legacies of colonialism and the predominance of the ‘global North’ are responsible for injustice in the Global South. Using the context of Zimbabwe, it is shown that colonialism is not the only image of violence and injustice, but that there are other forms of injustice that are of local origin. Throughout the book, it is argued that in speaking about contested criminalities, writers call attention to the fact that laws are violated, some laws are unjust and some crimes are henceforth justified. In this sense crime, (in)justice and the law are portrayed as unstable concepts.

Cultures of Change in Contemporary Zimbabwe
Cultures of Change in Contemporary Zimbabwe

Author: Oliver Nyambi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-04

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1000470288

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This book investigates how culture reflects change in Zimbabwe, focusing predominantly on Mnangagwa’s 2017 coup, but also uncovering deeper roots for how renewal and transition are conceived in the country. Since Emmerson Mnangagwa ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017, he has been keen to defi ne his "Second Republic" or "New Dispensation" with a rhetoric of change and a rejection of past political and economic cultures. This multi and inter- disciplinary volume looks to the (social) media, language/ discourse, theatre, images, political speeches and literary fiction and non- fiction to see how they have reflected on this time of unprecedented upheaval. The book argues that themes of self- renewal stretch right back to the formative years of the ZANU PF, and that despite the longevity of Mugabe’s tenure, the latest transition can be seen as part of a complex and protracted layering of postcolonial social, economic and political changes. Providing an innovative investigation of how political change in Zimbabwe is reflected on in cultural texts and products, this book will be of interest to researchers across African history, literature, politics, culture and post- colonial studies.

Life-Writing from the Margins in Zimbabwe
Life-Writing from the Margins in Zimbabwe

Author: Oliver Nyambi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-20

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0429785755

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This book explores the unique contributions of various forms of post-2000 life-writings such as the autobiography, epistles, and biographies, to discourses about the nature and socio-politics of what has become known as the Zimbabwean crisis (c. 2000–2009). Much of what has been written about the Zimbabwean crisis – a decade-long period of unprecedented economic collapse and political upheavals in the southern African country – is strictly discipline-specific and therefore limited to unidimensional modes of theorising the crisis’s many and complex dimensions and dynamics. In this context, this book charts a paradigm shift in hermeneutic and epistemological approaches to comprehending the Zimbabwean crisis. Life-Writing from the Margins in Zimbabwe centres the experiences and memories of ordinary Zimbabweans in pluralizing modes of seeing and knowing the crisis. The book argues that these life-writings present a rich site for encountering versions of the crisis that relate in counter-discursive ways, to the dominant, state-authored narrative of the nation in crisis. Oliver Nyambi’s analysis contributes new ideas to ongoing debates about how cultural texts reflect on the postcoloniality of both power, and experiences and negotiations of power in the context of crisis. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of African literature, Zimbabwean/African studies, postcolonial literature, life-writing and cultural studies.

The International Criminal Court and the Lord’s Resistance Army
The International Criminal Court and the Lord’s Resistance Army

Author: Joseph Otieno Wasonga

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-06-12

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0429662785

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This book interrogates the sharp contrast that emerged between demands of the norms of international rule of law and the interests of conflict resolution at a local level in northern Uganda. Examining how the nature and character of complex conflict situations like that of northern Uganda confounds the application of transitional justice mechanisms, The International Criminal Court and the Lord’s Resistance Army reveals the enduring dilemmas of transitional justice. Scrutinising the competing interests of punitive approaches to contemporary transitional justice and the political considerations for peace that may entail entering into dialogue with criminals, this book approaches such concepts from the perspective of international standards and the standpoint of the victims. While exploring the complexities of transitional justice processes, the book interrogates prevailing assumptions, proposing a broader conception that places at the centre local structural conditions associated with a conflict. The International Criminal Court and the Lord’s Resistance Army will be of interest to scholars and students of international law, African politics and conflict studies.

Contesting Inequalities, Identities and Rights in Ethiopia
Contesting Inequalities, Identities and Rights in Ethiopia

Author: Data D. Barata

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-11-08

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1351209981

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This book examines the relationship between inequalities and identities in the context of an unprecedented state advocacy of human rights with a distinct emphasis on (ethnic) group rights in post-civil war Ethiopia. The analysis is set against the background of a dramatic state remaking by a rebellion movement (the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front – EPRDF) that seized control of the Ethiopian state in 1991, after a decisive battlefield victory over an unpopular regime. The new government of former rebels pledged to institute a new system of ethnic self-government that celebrated ethnic diversity with a firm pledge to guarantee basic human rights. After nearly three decades in office, however, the Ethiopian government is challenged by the resilience of identity-based inequalities it ostensibly sought to end, and by protests against its own policies and practices that intensified inequality. The events in Ethiopia, reverberating throughout the Horn of Africa, have inspired heated and often polarized debates between academics, policy experts, political activists, and the media. Data D. Barata contributes to this debate through a nuanced ethnographic analysis of why identities with distinct notions of inequality persist, even after relentless interventions and ideological repudiations. The contestations and struggles over political representation, local governance, cultural identities, land and religion that the book examines are shaped, one way or another, by the global human rights discourse that has inspired millions of Africans to confront entrenched structures of power. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, African studies, political science, sociology and cultural studies.

National Healing, Integration and Reconciliation in Zimbabwe
National Healing, Integration and Reconciliation in Zimbabwe

Author: Ezra Chitando

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-12-06

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1000739856

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This book brings together scholars from diverse backgrounds to provide interdisciplinary perspectives on national healing, integration, and reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Taking into account the complex nature of healing across moral, political, economic, cultural, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of communities and the nation, the chapters discuss approaches, disparities, tensions, and solutions to healing and reconciliation within a multidisciplinary framework. Arguing that Zimbabwe’s development agenda is severely compromised by the dominance of violence and militancy, the contributors analyse the challenges, possibilities and opportunities for national healing. This book will be of interest to scholars of African studies, conflict and reconciliation, and development studies.

Memory and Erasure
Memory and Erasure

Author: Mandlenkosi Mpofu

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2023-03-28

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1779224281

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Memory and Erasure is part of a growing body of academic literature to properly document and narrate the Gukurahundi genocide which, hopefully, may contribute to survivors and victims families quest for justice and closure. Deployed in January 1983, the Fifth Brigades legacy has continued to cast a dark shadow not just over Matabeleland and Midlands, but over the entire country. As the title of the book and also the chapters forcefully underline, a culture of violence led by the state and those who control its levers pervades the whole of Zimbabwe and continues to do so partly because of the failure to address the Gukurahundi genocide and its aftermaths, which marked the height of Zimbabwean authorities tendency to use violence to crush dissent and opposition. Collectively, these essays explore different aspects of the Gukurahundi in order (1) to challenge the silencing of the genocide as a mainstream public issue in Zimbabwe, (2) to demonstrate how, deliberately and systematically, Zimbabwes rulers have refused to allow this issue to be resolved and have, in the process, completely disregarded the views, demands, feelings and sensitivities of affected individuals and communities, (3) to explore and critique the institutional, legal/ constitutional and political frameworks that have sustained the failure to find a solution, (4) to demonstrate how Zimbabwe, as a state, bears collective responsibility for Gukurahundi crimes and should therefore hold itself accountable and institute a clear and honest programme to provide a lasting solution that does not lead to further division, and (5) this collection emphasises, in various ways, that the solution to the political culture that has engulfed Zimbabwe and prevented it from attaining its independence goals lies in resolving the aftermath of Gukurahundi and addressing the culture of violence, repression and impunity in Zimbabwean politics.

Remembering Mass Atrocities: Perspectives on Memory Struggles and Cultural Representations in Africa
Remembering Mass Atrocities: Perspectives on Memory Struggles and Cultural Representations in Africa

Author: Mphathisi Ndlovu

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2024-01-29

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 3031398920

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This book explores how popular cultural artifacts, literary texts, commemorative practices and other forms of remembrances are used to convey, transmit and contest memories of mass atrocities in the Global South. Some of these historical atrocities took place during the Cold war. As such, this book unpacks the influence or role of the global powers in conflict in the Global South. Contributors are grappling with a number of issues such as the politics of memorialization, memory conflicts, exhumations, reburials, historical dialogue, peacebuilding and social healing, memory activism, visual representation, transgenerational transmission of memories, and identity politics.

African Intellectuals in the Post-colonial World
African Intellectuals in the Post-colonial World

Author: Fetson A Kalua

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-08-28

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1000699722

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This book examines the role of African intellectuals in the years since the end of colonialism, studying the contribution that has been made by such individuals, both to political causes and to development within Africa. Studying the concept of the "intellectual" within an African context, this book explores the responses of such individuals to crucial issues, such as cultural identity and knowledge production. The author argues that since the end of colonialism in Africa, various, often intertwining, factors, such as nationalism and co-option, have been used by black politicians or the political elites to muddle the roles and functions of black African intellectuals. Focusing on these confused roles and functions, the book posits that, over the years, most intellectuals in Africa have found the practice of "cheerleading" for a political cause more productive than making valuable contributions towards dynamic and progressive leadership in their countries. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of African studies, politics, and development studies.

Foreign Direct Investment in Large-Scale Agriculture in Africa
Foreign Direct Investment in Large-Scale Agriculture in Africa

Author: Atkeyelsh G. M. Persson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-02

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 0429670796

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This book examines environmental sustainability and inclusive economic growth, providing in-depth analysis of foreign direct investment (FDI) in large-scale agriculture in Ethiopia. In most African states, arable land and other natural resources play a pivotal role for economic growth and development. Ethiopia is one of those countries where agriculture is the backbone of the economy. This sector has also been an attraction for FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa since the global food and financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. This book uses six foreign investments in large-scale agriculture as case studies to examine current Ethiopian policies, the patterns of investment they promote, how these impact on land-based resources and communities’ wellbeing. Presenting analyses of the economic, social and political realities of foreign direct investment in the local context, Foreign Direct Investment in Large-Scale Agriculture in Africa discusses how the fundamental principles of pro-poor and environmentally sustainable investments intersect with the government’s ambition to advance Ethiopia’s development agenda. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of African economics and sustainable development, African policy makers, intergovernmental organisations as well as multilateral and bilateral development partners.