\u201cThe Transformations of ZANU (PF) and the Making of Modern Zimbabwe 1984-2018\u201d<\/p>\n
A Public Talk<\/strong><\/p>\n by Gerald Chikozho Mazarire<\/p>\n Abstract<\/strong>
\nZANU (PF)\u2019s 1984 Congress was a public expression of a liberation movement struggling to transform itself into a modern political party. Being the second such gathering after the first congress held in 1964, it exhibited the fissures and anxieties wrought upon it by the struggles within ZANU PF that had fermented in the two decades of a protracted armed struggle. The contradictions already apparent were either silenced, negotiated or, at best, postponed as the party straddled the thin line between constitutionalism, rewarding its own heroes and running a government. This paper argues that in managing these roles, the party became heavily dependent on its leader, Robert Mugabe, who re-organised it through subsequent \u2018congresses\u2019 by balancing the twin factors of incumbency and entitlement in a format that allowed him unbridled control over ZANU PF. The paper traces the various stages of transformation that the party underwent both constitutionally and by strategic \u2018re-organisation\u2019 of its civilian and military arms to explain how this created the necessary ingredients of a subsequent implosion. It explores this in the context of the November 2017 \u2018Operation Restore Legacy\u2019 and the implications of military takeover of both the party and government.<\/p>\n