Making Politics in Zimbabwe's Second Republic : The Formative Project by Emmerson Mnangagwa

The book provides a fresh and innovative interpretation of the new government of Zimbabwe led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, which emerged in late 2017 after the downfall of Robert Mugabe. It demonstrates the contradictory character of the Mnangagwa government, involving both continuities and discontinuities in relation to Mugabe’s regime . The temptation amongst Zimbabwean scholars has been to focus on the continuities and to dismiss the significance of any discontinuities, notably reform measures. This book adopts an alternative approach by identifying and focusing specifically on the existence of a formative project of the Mnangagwa’s Second Republic, further analysing its political significance, as well as risks and limitations.  

While doing so, the book covers topics such as reform measures, reconciliation, transitional justice, corruption, the media, agriculture, devolution,  and the debt crisis as well as health and education. Discussing the limitations of these different reform measures, the book highlights that any scholarly failure to identify the risks of the project leads to an incomplete understanding of what constitutes the Mnangagwa’s Second Republic. The book appeals to students, scholars and researchers of Zimbabwean and African studies, political science and international relations, as well as policymakers interested in a better understanding of political reform processes.

Gorden Moyo is senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Lupane State University (LSU), Zimbabwe. He is also the Founder of an independent think tank- the Public Policy and Research Institute of Zimbabwe (PPRIZ). He received his Ph.D. in African Leadership Development from the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe. Dr Moyo’s research interests include issues of African agency, global finance, military businesses, emerging markets and developing economies among others.  He has edited 3 books and published several peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His most recent book is titled "African Agency, Finance, and Developmental States", 2021, Palgrave Macmillan. He is the current President of the Development Studies Association of Zimbabwe (DeSAZ).  Previously, Dr Moyo served as a Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State Enterprises and Parastatals in the Inclusive Government of Zimbabwe(2009-2013)

Kirk Helliker is a research professor at the Department of Sociology at Rhodes University in Makhanda, South Africa. He is the founder and head of the Unit of Zimbabwean Studies at the Department of Sociology. He focuses on the supervision of Ph.D. students, mainly on Zimbabwean topics, and has published widely on Zimbabwean history and society. He most recently co-edited the volumes “Tonga Livelihoods in Rural Zimbabwe”, 2023, Routledge: London; "Capital Penetration and the Peasantry in Southern and Eastern Africa", 2022, Springer: Cham; "Everyday Crisis-Living in Contemporary Zimbabwe", 2021, Routledge: London; and co-authored "Fast Track Land Occupations in Zimbabwe: In the Context of the Zvimurenga", 2021, Springer: Cham. He also co-edited a special issue in the Journal of Contemporary African Studies (2020) and a special section in the Journal of Asian and African Studies (2021).