| Summary: | Department of Development Studies === PhD (African Studies) === There is a political conflict in Zimbabwe between the ruling Zimbabwean African National
Union-PatrioticFront (ZANU-PF) and the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC). Political conflict is a battle that occurs between two or more sides with
different beliefs. Although Zimbabwe is a sovereign state, South Africa used a foreign policy
of “quiet diplomacy” to contribute to the peaceful resolution of Zimbabwe’s political conflict.
A sovereign state is a state which administers its own government and is not dependent upon
or subjected to another state.
Dissent in Zimbabwe centres around the land issue, land ownership, land reform, and land
appropriation – problems caused as a result of parliamentary and presidential elections. Land
reform led the government to introduce “Operation Murambatsvina” which was a campaign
to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. The government depicted the operation as a
crackdown against illegal housing and commercial activities and as an effort to reduce the
risk of the spread of infectious disease in these areas.
South Africa’s “quiet diplomacy” succeeded in the peaceful resolution of the Zimbabwean
political conflict because the land issue was deemed legitimate; however, the methods used
for land reform seem to be problematic. For a way forward, the Zimbabwean government
needs to be accountable, transparent and democratic.
The researcher used a qualitative research method to gather an in-depth understanding of
human behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour. The researcher asked broad
questions and collected word data from participants. The researcher used different approaches
in collecting data, such as narratology, storytelling, classical ethnography and shadowing. In
addition the researcher used primary and secondary sources.
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