Resources

• Idasa Opinion: Inclusiveness obligatory for Liberian stability
  [Articles]

  22 Feb 2012Bryan Sims, political analyst with Idasa's States in Transition Observatory, provides an insightful appeal for inclusiveness in the new government in Liberia in order to ...

• Service delivery and transition in South Sudan
  [Articles]

  22 Nov 2011A sustainable transition in Africa’s newest country will require efficient service delivery, says Francis Tuhaise, a Ugandan intern with Idasa’s States in Transition Observatory.

• Promoting inclusive electoral governance in South Sudan
  [Articles]

  21 Nov 2011Francis Tuhaise, a Ugandan intern with Idasa’s States in Transition Observatory, argues that an electoral system that promotes both accountability and representation will be key ...

• Where to now for the youth who led South Sudan’s struggle?
  [Articles]

  19 Aug 2011The youth of South Sudan played a major role in the independence struggle, bringing new technology and modern ideas to rally support for succession. Yet ...

• Globalisation poses questions on Africa’s contribution to the human rights debate
  [Articles]

  19 Aug 2011Some say Africa has a long history of its own understanding of human rights and brings important nuances to the debate. They are up against ...

• Keeping secrets is not the way to make friends
  [Articles]

  12 Aug 2011South Africa’s proposed Protection of Information Bill, now back with the adhoc parliamentary committee for redrafting, is chillingly similar to Zimbabwe’s Access to Information and ...

• Idasa sets up US talks for Zimbabwe Law Society
  [Articles]

  21 Jul 2011On July 2, 2011, eight members of the Law Society of Zimbabwe arrived in the USA for a six day programme arranged by the Center ...

• Analysis: South Sudan's inauguration a starting point
  [Articles]

  08 Jul 2011African democracy institute Idasa celebrates the birth of Africa's newest state, but with some reservations. Experience on our continent has shown that the raising of ...

• What is Zimbabwe's Global Political Agreement?
  [Articles]

  08 May 2011If intended as a ceasefire agreement, Zimbabwe's global political agreement (GPA) has failed to deliver, but as a power-sharing mechanism it could well be guaranteed ...

• Articles of Faith: Assessing Zimbabwe's "GAP" as a Mechanism for Change - A Legal Perspective
  [Articles]

  10 Apr 2011By Derek Matyszak and Tony Reeler, Research and Advocacy Unit, Harare.Zimbabwe?s current Inclusive Government, more commonly referred to as a Government of National Unity (GNU), ...

• ZANU PF approaching election with unseemly haste
  [Articles]

  15 Feb 2011Our States in Transition Observatory’s (SITO’s) latest political briefing, held in Pretoria earlier this month, identified the political and social factors affecting Zanu PF’s “rushed” ...

• From power sharing to democracy? Facing the forces of change in Burundi’s upcoming elections
  [Articles]

  15 Jun 2010After 16 years of violence, Burundi now has a chance to install democracy. As the four-month poll process gets underway, with the last rebel group, ...

• Assessing whether the reforms aimed at integrating institutions of traditional leadership
  [Articles]

  14 May 2010A paper presented at The Traditional Councils, Local Government & Rural Local Governance Summit 2010: Building sustainable partnerships between traditional councils & local government to ...

• What are the options for Zimbabwe? Dealing with the obvious!
  [Articles]

  04 May 2010Report produced by the Governance Programme, RAU. It should be evident from this analysis that the major problem is not whether or not the personal ...

• What Women need from the Reform Agenda in the DRC
  [Articles]

  17 Mar 2010By Oupa Makhalemele The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is now regarded as the most dangerous place in the world for women to live ...

• The Grand Inga Dam: A promise to light up Africa that could still leave poorer citizens in the dark
  [Articles]

  02 Mar 2010By Charlotte Johnson The proposed Grand Inga Dam, which is to be constructed in western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is set to dwarf all ...

• Problems of democratic transition and consolidation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
  [Articles]

  12 Feb 2010By: Sylvester Bongani Maphosa (PhD) When independent states emerged from colonial rule in the 1960s, the Central African region had never had an established democratic ...

• Swaziland Country Brief
  [Articles]

  26 Nov 2009Swaziland remains the only absolute monarchy on the continent. Although it has made efforts to embrace modern forms of governance in the last few years, ...

• Roundtable discussion on Traditional Leaders
  [Articles]

  25 Nov 2009The Political Governance Programme (PGP) of Idasa agreed at its May 2009 Annual Strategy Review to further explore how existing customs and practices on the ...

• Regional Solidarity with Zimbabwe: has it made a difference?
  [Articles]

  23 Nov 2009A Perspective by Emily Wellman Solidarity is the unity of the human spirit, the act of support and empathy for another without the need for ...

• COMMUNIQUÉ - Summit of the Troika of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
  [Articles]

  06 Nov 200905 NOVEMBER 2009 MAPUTO, REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE 1. Summit of the Troika of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation met in Maputo, Republic ...

• Agreement Between the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patronic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two Movement for Democtractic Change (MDC) Foundation, on Resolving the Challenges Facing Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  02 Nov 2009THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL SUMMARY - TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE NEW AGREEMENT – READ IT AND SHARE IT ARTICLE II : DECLARATION OF COMMITMENT  ...

• The Security – Development Nexus: An analysis of the potential impact of Security Sector Reform on the Reconstruction process in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  08 Oct 2009By: Theophilous Chiviru This paper will use Zimbabwe as a case study to illustrate how reforming the security sector and demilitarizing the state will be ...

• The Role of Traditional Leaders in a Post-Tinkhundla Swaziland
  [Articles]

  28 Aug 2009By: Xolani Simelane The majority of African countries are predominantly rural and the authority of modern government often does not extend to these rural areas. ...

• Zimbabwe has a long way to go before sanctions are lifted
  [Articles]

  09 Jul 2009Article by Tichafara Rhys, Zimbabwe Exiles Forum The African Union (AU), SADC and the Zimbabwean Government of National Unity (GNU), have recently begun to take it ...

• Subtle Repression Silences Opposition in Swaziland
  [Articles]

  25 Jun 2009Rather than the combination of rule by law and violent physical oppression that has characterized Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, Swaziland’s political leadership is using ...

• SADC Neighbours Ignore Human Rights in Swaziland
  [Articles]

  25 Jun 2009By: Oupa Makhalemele Any publicity, convention has it, is good publicity. For those following events in Zimbabwe and Swaziland, this was demonstrated during the inauguration ...

• Updates on Human Rights in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  05 Jun 2009Below are a range of documents relating to human rights in Zimbabwe in May and June 2009.

• Human Rights and Prisoners
  [Articles]

  17 Apr 2009Shouldn’t human rights apply to all humans, even prisoners? By Emily Wellman Should the crime of stealing a piece of meat be punishable by death? ...

• Is how a country treats the most vulnerable of its people not a test of its humanity?
  [Articles]

  25 Mar 2009By: Emily Wellman The small town of Musina on the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa is the first stop for new arrivals and their ...

• The Global Political Agreement and the Unity Accord in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  25 Feb 2009By: Shari Eppel, Solidarity Peace Trust, February 2009 In Zimbabwe in 2008, the March Presidential election failed to produce an outright winner, although Morgan Tsvangirai ...

• Education in Zimbabwe: The latest victim of the Economic Collapse
  [Articles]

  02 Feb 2009  When Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, the majority of the population was illiterate. In the next 15 years, Zimbabweans witnessed incredible strides in ...

• The Crisis in Zimbabwe - A Case for "root and branch" Security Sector Reform?
  [Articles]

  02 Feb 2009By: Martin Rupiya In this article, Martin Rupiya discusses the crisis in Zimbabwe as a case for "root and branch" security sector reform.  He says ...

• Save Zimbabwe Now
  [Articles]

  29 Jan 2009Save Zimbabwe Now is an initiative aimed at galvanizing and building the solidarity movement for Zimbabwe in South Africa. The initiative is supported by several high ...

• Zimbabwe Continues to Deteriorate
  [Articles]

  29 Jan 2009The Zimbabwean situation continues to deteriorate.  For ordinary citizens, life has become a struggle on many fronts.  For some, it is the daily hope that ...

• Cell phone charges in foreign currency: Implications for communication and information dissemination
  [Articles]

  29 Jan 2009By Aqualina Mawadza The government of Zimbabwe has granted cell phone networks permission to bill subscribers in foreign currency. Although Zimbabwe’s economy has virtually been ...

• Of Women and Votes - The Struggle for Gender Equity in Swaziland
  [Articles]

  10 Dec 2008By:  Xolani Simelane So a vote for women in Swaziland is not only unSwazi but it is also evil! That is, if the chiefs from ...

• Equal Income Distribution would make Swazis Millionaires
  [Articles]

  10 Dec 2008By: Theophilous Chiviru Swaziland is currently facing a serious socio-economic situation characterized by high levels of poverty primarily as a result of an unequal distribution ...

• Looking for keys under street lights
  [Articles]

  08 Dec 2008By: A P Reeler Any successful mediation or negotiation depends on the creation of trust, which is no easy task when the political stakes are ...

• Key Moments in Swaziland
  [Articles]

  01 Dec 2008Please download the below fact sheet of historical moments within Swaziland from Independence from Britain-1968 until present day.

• Safety & Security in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  24 Nov 2008In partnership with the Zimbabwe Institute, Idasa hosted a roundtable in South Africa, focussing on security sector reform in Zimbabwe. The event gathered regional and ...

• Cholera outbreak continues in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  21 Nov 2008By: Theophilous Chiviru As the world puts more focus on the political stalemate between ZANU PF and the MDC, a new humanitarian  crisis has hit ...

• Zimbabwe Country Brief
  [Articles]

  19 Nov 2008Zimbabwe attained its independence from Britain in 1980. With a relatively industrialized economy and a firm agricultural base, it was labeled the ‘bread basket’ of ...

• SADC versus the people of Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  19 Nov 2008By: A. P. Reeler When two-thirds of SADC Presidents, sending proxies instead, fail to turn up for a Summit that includes both the endless Zimbabwe ...

• Burning bank notes to make money
  [Articles]

  19 Nov 2008Zimbabwe is currently experiencing one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history, with annual inflation exceeding 230 million percent. Hyperinflation, defined, constitutes extreme long ...

• SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
  [Articles]

  17 Nov 2008On the 17th of August 2004, in Mauritius, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders adopted the "SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections”. As ...

• Transitional Justice for Villagers in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  14 Nov 2008In this article, Shari Eppel argues that Zimbabwe urgently needs to consider how best to begin some process of healing rifts among villagers, before we ...

• Dollarization in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  12 Nov 2008By Daniel B. Ndlela The economic circumstances of Zimbabwe are deteriorating by the day and the situation for both households and businesses has become dire. ...

• Prospects for Transitional Justice in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  12 Nov 2008By Brian Raftopoulos The democratic movement in Zimbabwe is faced with a strategic dilemma about how to advance the struggle for change in the country. ...

• Short Briefing Note 2 - Zimbabwe’s Budget Fundings Options
  [Articles]

  06 Nov 2008By: Daniel B. Ndlela BUDGET FUNDINGS OPTIONS Fiscal consolidation and Monetary Stabilization The full extent of Zimbabwe’s fiscal crisis is unknown partly because of the ...

• The "Real Deal" or another walk down the garden path in Zimbabwe?
  [Articles]

  06 Nov 2008Research & Advocacy Unit [RAU] It seems in Zimbabwe that the more things change the more they stay the same, and we are all wondering ...

• Losing Focus: Zimbabwe's "Power-sharing" Agreement
  [Articles]

  04 Nov 2008By: Derek Matyszak Research and Advocacy Unit, Zimbabwe The brutal campaign instigated by Mugabe's supporters to reverse his electoral defeat in the 29th March 2008 ...

• SADC Must Find Equitable Solution to Zimbabwean Crisis
  [Articles]

  27 Oct 2008By: Emily Wellman The financial and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe is now so grave that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediators meeting in Harare ...

• HIV and nutrition in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  20 Oct 2008By: Emily Wellman The media in South Africa has had extensive coverage of the unfolding political and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. One story that is ...

• What is the state of education in Zimbabwe today?
  [Articles]

  20 Oct 2008By: Emily Wellman From the middle of the 1980’s Zimbabwe had one of the best education systems that has been built with generous support from ...

• Zimbabwe: Comments on the Power Sharing Agreement
  [Articles]

  17 Oct 2008Whilst the Agreement marks a shift in the politics of Zimbabwe, it is not evident that the Agreement on its own will be sufficient to ...

• Tsvangirai and Mugabe Sign New Deal
  [Articles]

  16 Sep 2008On Monday 15th September, Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe signed a power sharing agreement on the way forward in Zimbabwe.  See the details of this ...

• Women's Rights in Conflict in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  03 Sep 2008By: Kudakwashe Chitsike The treatment of women during times of conflict led to the development of the Nairobi Declaration on Women's and Girls' Rights to Remedy ...

• (JOC) keying for Power - The Joint Operations Command and the viability of a transitional arrangement in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  07 Aug 2008By: Colin Felsman With the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, inaugural President Robert Mugabe and his partners in the liberation struggle promised ...

• The Presidential Run-Off: Mostly Business as Usual for ZANU-PF
  [Articles]

  25 Jul 2008Please be advised that this is not an Idasa employee, Norma Kriger is a consultant specializing in Zimbabwe. She is author of Guerrilla Veterans in ...

• The Electoral Process in Swaziland: Are Boycotts Effective?
  [Articles]

  17 Jul 2008By: Hamilton Simelani Since 1973 the issue of elections in Swaziland has been contested.  Various political formations argue that elections have been, at best, a ...

• Haiti’s Transitional Government: Lessons for Zimbabwe?
  [Articles]

  09 Jul 2008Opinion piece by: Colin Felsman Zimbabwe is currently at a political impasse. Although the dynamics of the current political and economic malaise in Zimbabwe are ...

• A vote for life
  [Articles]

  18 Jun 2008By: Emily Wellman See this video of current treatment of MDC Supporters in Zimbabwe In 10 days, Zimbabweans are expected to go back to the ...

• Third Force Speculations in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  04 Jun 2008By: Judith Todd Bearing in mind  Zanu (PF)'s propensity to attribute their crimes to their opponents, Bright Matonga's recent statements make riveting reading. In a ...

• Why Flotation?
  [Articles]

  20 May 2008In an unprecedented move in early May 2008, the central bank eased foreign exchange rules by allowing banks to buy and set the currency rate. ...

• Zimbabwe’s Run-off?
  [Articles]

  20 May 2008Opinion piece by: Christopher Gevers Following weeks of uncertainty regarding the outcome of Zimbabwe’s Presidential election, there is now both an official result as well ...

• Rural electorate ditches rabid ZANU PF
  [Articles]

  19 May 2008Despite being given free food, grain, farming implements and fertilizer by the incumbent regime in the March 2008 elections, Zimbabwe's rural areas, once viewed as ...

• Gordon Brown - an agent of regime change?
  [Articles]

  02 May 2008Several weeks ago the new UK Prime Minister threatened not to come to the Lisbon EU-AU special summit if President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe would ...

• Opinion Piece - DEFENDING THE VICTORY
  [Articles]

  10 Apr 2008The MDC scored a surprising (it ought not to have been, but was) victory in the March 29th 2008 parliamentary election, smashing ZANU PF’s parliamentary ...

• Zimbabwe: What Will the 2008 Elections Bring?
  [Articles]

  12 Mar 2008The political terrain in Zimbabwe is shifting and the forthcoming elections are provoking considerable excitement, mainly over whether Robert Mugabe will survive the most serious ...

• Too clever by half, or less than half?
  [Articles]

  19 Feb 2008Since Simba Makoni announced his candidature for the Presidential election in March, there have been a wide range of theories speculating as to why he ...

• The Gorbachev Factor
  [Articles]

  23 Nov 2007By David Coltart The recent passage of Constitutional Amendment 18 through the Zimbabwean Parliament  with the consent of both Zanu PF and the opposition MDC ...

• The Effects of Migration on Zimbabwean Children
  [Articles]

  22 Nov 2007By: Annah Y. Moyo The current situation in Zimbabwe has led to the exodus of many Zimbabweans. A large proportion of them come to South ...

• Zimbabwe After Mugabe?
  [Articles]

  22 Nov 2007By: Jaco Roets Currently it is almost impossible to think of Zimbabwe without thinking of its leader of 27 years, Robert Mugabe.  For many he ...

• Food security in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  22 Nov 2007Food security is a complex issue in Zimbabwe. But, is it really a case of mass starvation? Or, is it a selective view of what ...

• Come See Zimbabwe Ruins in South Africa - why SA wants to link Rand to ZimDollar
  [Articles]

  05 Nov 2007By: Justin G. Steyn On the 11th of July, 2007, the Business Report ran a front-page story that made an attempt to describe a monetary ...

• EU - AU summit - should Mugabe attend?
  [Articles]

  05 Nov 2007The writing in the sand is becoming clear. Mugabe will be invited to the AU-EU summit to be held in Lisbon, Portugal on the 8th ...

• Sanction Zimbabwe? What the West can do
  [Articles]

  18 Oct 2007By: Trevor Ncube These are excerpts/extracts from the Second Oppenheimer Lecture delivered at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London in September SANCTIONS The ...

• Zimbabwe Crisis: Opportunities for Reform
  [Articles]

  18 Oct 2007By: Trevor Ncube These are excerpts/extracts from the Second Oppenheimer Lecture delivered at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London in September Although the ...

• The Right To Know
  [Articles]

  01 Oct 2007By: Judith Todd                     Various entities, including  the International Crisis Group and the USA's Ambassador-Designate to Zimbabwe James D. McGee, have urged full support for SADC's ...

• Zimbabwe mediation - lessons from the Lancaster House Negotiations
  [Articles]

  26 Sep 2007“Who are you, Mwanawasa? Who are you? Who do you think you are?” No, these are not words uttered by Zambian President Levy Mwananwasa’s psychologist ...

• A Survey of the Profile of Migrant Zimbabweans in South Africa
  [Articles]

  26 Sep 2007By: Daniel Makina, University of South Africa While the Zimbabwe crisis is well documented, the victims who have fled the country to neighbouring countries and ...

• Targeted Sanctions: For a Kinder and Gentler Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  19 Sep 2007The morality and effectiveness of sanctions has long been a debate in international human rights circles. It has generally been assumed that sanctions don’t work ...

• The Sanctions Debate on Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  19 Sep 2007By: Brian Raftopoulos, Director of Research, Solidarity Peace Trust. Since the explosive politics of the period of 2000 and beyond in Zimbabwe the issue of ...

• History repeating? – the danger of opposition cooptation in Zanu-Pf
  [Articles]

  12 Sep 2007By Olmo von Meijenfeldt During the weekend of 1 and 2 September 2007negotiations continued between Zanu-Pf, the Zimbabwe government and the two MDC formations in ...

• Fighting back
  [Articles]

  11 Sep 2007Eddie Cross Bulawayo 10th September 2007 We are now into our third month of the “neutron bomb” campaign or the Pol Pot strategy as I ...

• Trying to Understand South African Diplomacy in Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  06 Sep 2007The SADC initiative to facilitate talks between the divided opposition and the dominant Zanu-PF offers the South Africans an opportunity to be seen to be ...

• Thanks, but no Thanks - SA Quiet diplomacy
  [Articles]

  28 Aug 2007In response to increased pressure for action on Zimbabwe, following the life-threatening beatings of opposition leaders on 11th March, 2007, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of ...

• Economic Fundamentals
  [Articles]

  27 Aug 2007Eddie Cross Bulawayo, 24th August 2007 For most people the situation in Zimbabwe is quite bewildering. They find it very hard to work out what ...

• Play it again Thabo - Dejavu and Zimbabwean Elections
  [Articles]

  23 Aug 2007That Zimbabwe’s 2000 Parliamentary Elections and 2002 Presidential Elections were characterised by endemic violence is no longer disputed. The violations of the African Charter on ...

• Endgame Scenarios to the Zimbabwe Crisis
  [Articles]

  01 Aug 2007By: Daniel Makina Normally a crisis has to reach a certain threshold before a concerted effort is taken to achieve resolution at either a domestic ...

• The four hard choices for Zimbabwe
  [Articles]

  01 Aug 2007By: Prof Jonathan Moyo, MP As President Robert Mugabe delivered his televised address officially opening the third and apparently last session of the sixth parliament ...

• Endgame Scenarios to the Zimbabwe Crisis
  [Articles]

  30 Jul 2007By: Daniel Makina Normally a crisis has to reach a certain threshold before a concerted effort is taken for its resolution either at domestic or ...

• Price Controls - The Political Economy of Popularity and Poverty
  [Articles]

  27 Jul 2007The Zimbabwe government’s recent imposition of price controls has been billed by the state as an exercise in reminding the private sector about the tenets ...

• Scenario Mapping
  [Articles]

  27 Jul 2007With the recent development of the SADC initiative and the enforced nomination of Robert Mugabe as the Zanu PF candidate for “harmonised” elections in 2008, ...

• Justice in Zimbabwe - Can Atrocities be Punished Internationally?
  [Articles]

  22 Jul 2007A significant number of cases of crimes against humanity have been reported in Zimbabwe to date. It has become painfully clear that torture is state-sanctioned ...

• Mugabe thumbing his nose at mediation - what can SADC do?
  [Articles]

  18 Jul 2007It seems clear that Robert Mugabe and a coterie of his supporters have little intention in being bound by the current SADC mediation. Firstly, the ...

• Zimbabwe Scenario's
  [Articles]

  18 Jul 2007With the recent development of the SADC initiative on Zimbabwe, and the enforced nomination of Robert Mugabe as the ZanuPF candidate for “harmonised” elections in ...

• The Pros and Cons of a Negotiated Settlement to the ZIM Crisis
  [Articles]

  16 Jul 2007By: Daniel Makina Commitment to a mediated solution The violent crackdown on members of the opposition including their leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, which took energised form ...

• Zimbabwe’s Responsibility & failure to Protect - a call for UN intervention
  [Articles]

  12 Jul 2007Zimbabwe’s health services now resemble a country in a state of war according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. This is not surprising. ...

• Land and Zanu-PF Rhetoric
  [Articles]

  27 Jun 2007In all the confusion over what is at issue in the current Zimbabwe crisis, a few points seem to have been missed entirely. They seem ...

• Of Rumours and Coups - putting the Harare coup attempt into perspective
  [Articles]

  18 Jun 2007Again, perhaps more so than ever before, the air in Harare is heavy with rumours of coup d’états and Mugabe’s soon-to-be downfall. Several months ago ...

• MUGABE IS THE PROBLEM IN ZIMBABWE - a Pan - Africanist Perspective
  [Articles]

  16 Jun 2007John Kamau’s article (Business Daily 29th May 2007) on Zimbabwe calling on the world to give Mugabe a break was the most articulate article regarding ...

• The poisoned chalice - facilitating SADC political dialogue
  [Articles]

  15 Jun 2007There are 10 months left before the crisis in Zimbabwe lurches to new depths, and once again the regional and international community finds itself locked ...

• How Robert Mugabe plans to win the 2008 elections
  [Articles]

  24 May 2007With the recent development of the SADC initiative on Zimbabwe, and the enforced nomination of Robert Mugabe as the ZanuPF candidate for “harmonised” elections in ...