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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Zimbabwe's Zezuru Sum Game: The Basis for the Security Dilemma in Which the Political Elite Finds Itself
Author:Maroleng, ChrisISNI
Year:2005
Periodical:African Security Review
Volume:14
Issue:3
Pages:77-93
Language:English
Geographic term:Zimbabwe
Subjects:political elite
authoritarianism
political change
succession
Politics and Government
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10246029.2005.9627375
Abstract:The current dilemma facing Zimbabwe's political elite has arisen out of uncertainty and fear of prosecution. The elite turns to repression of political opposition and cooptation as a means of addressing its insecurity and regaining legitimacy. The author argues that the situation in Zimbabwe is not just a zero sum game - in a zero sum game, the total benefit to all players in the game, for every combination of strategies, always adds up to zero - but also one in which the gains of President Mugabe's Zezuru faction and its allies must be matched by its losses to their intra and inter-party rivals in order to address their security dilemma, resulting in a 'Zezuru sum game'. The Zezuru sum game can be seen as a move by Mugabe and his associates to address their security dilemma by gaining total dominance. To avoid recycling old insecurities that may result in the perpetuation of the current political stalemate, there is a need to balance the desire of the victims of the regime for justice against the wishes of the perpetrators for amnesty and/or immunity from prosecution. Failure to balance these contending needs could result in the principle of justice becoming a retardant to Zimbabwe's political transformation. Notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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