Publication

This paper explores the implications of linkages between former liberation movements and governments for current mediation and conflict resolution efforts by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Zimbabwe. It discusses how the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), with its complicated roots as a splinter group from the established Zimbabwe African People’s Union, strove to attain recognition as the sole and authentic liberation movement in Zimbabwe. The paper suggests that pre and post-independence, historical linkages and personal contacts continue to influence the character of SADC mediation and conflict resolution efforts in Zimbabwe.