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Flight and fortitude: the decline of the middle class in Zimbabwe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2020

Roger Southall
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Abstract

This article focuses on the impact of the policies of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) government on Zimbabwe's black middle class. It does so by exploring three propositions emerging from the academic literature. The first is that during the early years of independence, the middle class transformed into a party-aligned bourgeoisie. The second is that, to the extent that the middle class has not left the country as a result of the economic plunge from the 1990s, it played a formative role in opposition to ZANU-PF and the political elite. The third is that, in the face of ZANU-PF's authoritarianism and economic hardship, the middle class has largely withdrawn from the political arena.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article traite de l'impact des politiques du gouvernement de la ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) au pouvoir sur la classe moyenne noire du Zimbabwe. Il le fait en explorant trois propositions émergeant de la littérature académique. La première est que durant les premières années de l'indépendance, la classe moyenne s'est transformée en bourgeoisie alignée sur le parti. La deuxième est que, dans la mesure où elle n'a pas quitté le pays sous l'effet de l'effondrement économique à partir des années 1990, la classe moyenne a joué un rôle formateur dans l'opposition à la ZANU-PF et à l’élite politique. La troisième est que, face à l'autoritarisme de la ZANU-PF et aux difficultés économiques, la classe moyenne s'est largement retirée de l'arène politique.

Type
The lived experiences of the African middle classes
Information
Africa , Volume 90 , Issue 3 , May 2020 , pp. 529 - 547
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Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2020

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