The 1995 general election was the third in the post-independence period in Zimbabwe, and the first to be held in the country since the international demise of the one-party socialist state and the introduction of Structural Adjustment Policies. This work represents a comprehensive, empirical study of these elections undertaken by the Department of Political Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, and an independent French Research Institute. Beyond the electoral results - considered from the outset a foregone conclusion - the study analyses the Zimbabwe elections as a process, in order to provide a deeper understanding of how the ruling elite - the ZANU-PF - uses the electoral process and pretences of fairness and democracy to maintain authoritarian rule; and argues that the electoral process itself may be considered an indicator of entrenched political domination. At evey level the study intends to redress propagandist or naive perceptions of realities of contemporary Zimbabwean politics.
Behind the Smokescreen. The Politics of Zimbabwe's 1995 General Elections
The 1995 general election was the third in the post-independence period in Zimbabwe, and the first to be held in the country since the international demise of the one-party socialist state and the introduction of Structural Adjustment Policies. This work represents a comprehensive, empirical study of these elections undertaken by the Department of Political Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, and an independent French Research Institute. Beyond the electoral results - considered from the outset a foregone conclusion - the study analyses the Zimbabwe elections as a process, in order to provide a deeper understanding of how the ruling elite - the ZANU-PF - uses the electoral process and pretences of fairness and democracy to maintain authoritarian rule; and argues that the electoral process itself may be considered an indicator of entrenched political domination. At evey level the study intends to redress propagandist or naive perceptions of realities of contemporary Zimbabwean politics.
