ZANU PF politics under Zimbabwe's ‘Power-Sharing’ Government

Abstract

Using informal network analysis to understand ZANU PF politics, the key significance of the Inclusive Government (IG) is twofold. First, competition between ZANU PF and the ‘opposition’ parties in the IG helps informal networks to cohere sufficiently to run a parallel government that effectively sabotages the IG. Second, the parallel government itself operates to a significant degree through informal networks, further entrenching this form of politics. Informal networks that rely on violence and patronage – or consent and coercion – capture the dynamic shaping contemporary politics in Zimbabwe.