Getting to a Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

Getting to a Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

Pray for Zimbabweans. Their economy, shrinking for a decade, is suffering hyperinflation of more than 230 million percent. The government, which has no money to keep most primary and secondary schools open, has even closed down several hospitals during a cholera epidemic. The disease has left nearly 1,200 people dead and more than 23,000 others infected, according to the United Nations. With food, water, electricity and public services all scarce, Zimbabwe confirms Hobbes' belief in the harshness of existence.

President Robert Mugabe, the country's sole leader since independence in 1980, deserves much of the blame. He has clung to power, emboldened by his ZANU-PF party, no matter what the national cost. Still, it is unclear how to effect the necessary change to begin Zimbabwe's reconstruction.

For Western officials, that process no longer includes a role for Mugabe, with outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush going so far as to say recently, "It is time for Robert Mugabe to go." The stalemated Sept. 11 power sharing agreement, which attempted to create an inclusive government between ZANU-PF and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, is now a non-starter for the U.S. and perhaps Britain. Beyond their rhetoric, the U.S. and the European Union have also imposed sanctions on members of Mugabe's regime and his financial enablers.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review