It is quite clear that the misery of Zimbabweans has not provided much impetus to push the negotiations forward in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe has not much cared about the suffering of his citizenry over the course of the last decade and more. There is no reason to believe he would start now. And let there be no question about it — Mugabe's obstinacy is the key impediment at work in thwarting successful negotiations, negotiations he never expected to have to endure and that he certainly never desired.
So is it possible that outside pressure, which has been intermittent at best, will come to bear in Zimbabwe? With Thabo Mbeki's brokering of discussions there was at least the pretense of progress. Is it possible that various forms of pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), or from individual SADC members, such as Botswana, which has called for new elections in Zimbabwe, or a newly configured South African negotiation team, might prove effective? Signs are that South Africa is growing frustrated with the glacial pace of talks. And Jacob Zuma is less indulgent of Mugabe than was Thabo Mbeki to begin with.
Pressure is almost certainly going to have to come from without to get the talks going again. because there is almost no sense within Zimbabwe that Mugabe has any interest whatsoever in yielding power beyond te miniscule steps he has already taken.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
