Abstract
This thesis explores the power relationship and the dominant and counter-discourses in state-society relations in Zimbabwe. This thesis arose out of a critique of studies that have understood power as a negative and top-down exercise (Munyikwa 2018; Moyo 2018; Ndakaripa 2017; Lewanika 2014; Moyo 2014; Ncube 2010; Magure 2009) that is part of a repression narrative and as something which is “possessed” by Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) only. This thesis argues that state-society relations in Zimbabwe are better understood through a Foucauldian lens which indicates that power is productive and therefore creates, shapes, and reshapes.
Methodologically this thesis draws on qualitative methods which comprise an analysis of existing historical texts on state-society relations in Zimbabwe, supplemented by 20 interviews with activists, participant observations, and archival work. The thesis demonstrates the circular nature of power in line with Foucault’s works, by identifying the ZANU-PF governments’ dominant discourse of patriotic history; how it has changed over time, and how civil society has countered or challenged this dominant discourse. The thesis noted that civil society challenged patriotic history discourse through the counter-discourses of democracy, constitutionalism, human rights, and the rule of law. The thesis showcases that civil society organisations and the opposition political parties won battles such as the one-party-state debate, the constitutional referendum, and the 2008 elections among others. Thus, despite being in a position of power, ZANU-PF lost these battles and in Foucauldian parlance, this shows that power is pervasive and even actors in weakened positions can challenge those in authority and come away with some gains.
The thesis highlights that in the post-2000, ZANU-PF faced strong resistance from civil society which forced it to rely on the patriotic history discourse and “brutal” repression to maintain its hold on power. For instance, in 2008, when the party saw that its patriotic history discourse was exhausted, it resorted to brute repression to retain power when many people were killed in the wake of the first-round of 2008 elections, which were lossed to the Movement for Democratic Change. To retain power and to align its internal factional discord, ZANU-PF has again not hesitated to use the military to chart its way forward, instead of solely relying on patriotic history discourse, and this was shown by the
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coup against Mugabe and the brutal shutting down of the political space in the wake of the controversial 2018 harmonised elections. The thesis therefore concludes that state-society relations in Zimbabwe can be best understood through the patriotic history discourse and by employing a Foucauldian lens.
Keywords: Repression, resistance, patriotic history, discourse, power, Zimbabwe, democracy, civil society, state, civil society organisations.