Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics
Scholarship tends to neglect the phenomenon of political violence in opposition parties in Zimbabwe. The prevailing narrative is that political violence is largely a monopoly of the state and the ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). However, an emerging trend im...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
University of Hradec Králové, Philosophical Faculty
2020-06-01
|
Series: | Modern Africa |
Online Access: | http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/241 |
id |
doaj-be699838960f41dc840192b3c90e60de |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-be699838960f41dc840192b3c90e60de2020-11-25T03:46:38ZengUniversity of Hradec Králové, Philosophical Faculty Modern Africa2336-32742570-75582020-06-018110.26806/modafr.v8i1.241 Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition PoliticsCharles Moyo0RHOMA Foreign Relations Institute, ZambiaScholarship tends to neglect the phenomenon of political violence in opposition parties in Zimbabwe. The prevailing narrative is that political violence is largely a monopoly of the state and the ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). However, an emerging trend implicates opposition political parties, particularly the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC’s party’s foot-soldiers, especially the “Vanguard,” often exhibit violent tendencies. Accordingly, the present article explores the scourge of intra-party violence in the opposition party MDC between 2005 and 2019. The article conceptualises and contextualises MDC’s violence through the lenses of Zimbabwe’s political culture and socialisation in the context of the country’s pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial historical trajectories. http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/241 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Charles Moyo |
spellingShingle |
Charles Moyo Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics Modern Africa |
author_facet |
Charles Moyo |
author_sort |
Charles Moyo |
title |
Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics |
title_short |
Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics |
title_full |
Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics |
title_fullStr |
Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Party Foot-Soldiers, Quasi-Militias, Vigilantes, and the Spectre of Violence in Zimbabwe’s Opposition Politics |
title_sort |
party foot-soldiers, quasi-militias, vigilantes, and the spectre of violence in zimbabwe’s opposition politics |
publisher |
University of Hradec Králové, Philosophical Faculty |
series |
Modern Africa |
issn |
2336-3274 2570-7558 |
publishDate |
2020-06-01 |
description |
Scholarship tends to neglect the phenomenon of political violence in opposition parties in Zimbabwe. The prevailing narrative is that political violence is largely a monopoly of the state and the ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). However, an emerging trend implicates opposition political parties, particularly the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC’s party’s foot-soldiers, especially the “Vanguard,” often exhibit violent tendencies. Accordingly, the present article explores the scourge of intra-party violence in the opposition party MDC between 2005 and 2019. The article conceptualises and contextualises MDC’s violence through the lenses of Zimbabwe’s political culture and socialisation in the context of the country’s pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial historical trajectories.
|
url |
http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/241 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT charlesmoyo partyfootsoldiersquasimilitiasvigilantesandthespectreofviolenceinzimbabwesoppositionpolitics |
_version_ |
1724505226571939840 |