The Political Culture of Zimbabwe: Continuities and Discontinuities
Political culture in Zimbabwe has been influenced since 1893 by British colonization. The British imposed their preferred governance models on the colonized peoples who inhabited the territory that was named Southern Rhodesia and subsequently Rhodesia. Ho
- PDF / 274,511 Bytes
- 26 Pages / 419.528 x 595.276 pts Page_size
- 62 Downloads / 250 Views
The Political Culture of Zimbabwe: Continuities and Discontinuities Rudo Gaidzanwa
Introduction Pye and Verba (1965) defined political culture as the totality of basic values, feelings and knowledge that underlie the political process in a specific country or environment. The manner in which citizens interact with and experience governance institutions shapes their participation in civic and political affairs. Thus the beliefs, opinions, emotions and experiences of citizens, residents and members of communities are shaped by the behaviours of governance institutions at all levels. When governance structures are remote and inaccessible, citizens may become alienated from them, resulting in disconnection between the governed and the governors. In some instances, governance structures and personnel may be authoritarian, coercive and intolerant of dissent, also resulting in the alienation of citizens from their governments. Such governance systems generate dissent, protest and opposition, resulting in their destabilization, as well as that of the structures and societies concerned. Ideally, citizens desire the freedom to engage with those who preside over their governance systems
R. Gaidzanwa (*) Department of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s) 2020 S. J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, P. Ruhanya (eds.), The History and Political Transition of Zimbabwe, African Histories and Modernities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47733-2_2
25
26
R. GAIDZANWA
and structures, in order to influence policies, programmes, change and decisions that are made on behalf of citizens. Ideally, societies with responsive political and social systems and structures that accommodate citizens’ opinions and ideas will generate and promote a positive political culture. Political culture in Zimbabwe has been influenced since 1893 by British colonization. The British imposed their preferred governance models on the colonized peoples who inhabited the territory that was named Southern Rhodesia and subsequently Rhodesia. In the era preceding colonialism, the political cultures of native peoples were varied. The Ndebele people operated under a monarchical system (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2008), while the Shona and related peoples had a less centralized system, which comprised chiefs and headmen and headwomen as their political authorities. The Shona chiefs were drawn from selected families and clans, and they administered the law with the aid of elders who were selected for their expertise in and knowledge and experience of Shona culture and its laws and customs. Collectively, the chiefs, elders and representatives of clans and families managed decisions agreed by their Dare, the group of elders and advisors that counselled the chief. In this way, the culture of political representation based on family and clan ensured that decisions taken by the collective representative body were acceptable to a majority of those who were subjected to their clan’s laws, rules, customs, structures and institutions. This system attempted to avert ty
Data Loading...
