The Zimbabwean Crisis and the Challenges for the Left

The Zimbabwean crisis has generated a great deal of academic and political debate, not the least of which has been conflicting perspectives from the Left. While the politics of land redistribution has been characterised by some as a key marker of anti-imperialist and anti-neoliberal politics, others have been equally concerned about the authoritarian politics that has been the modality for the land interventions of the Mugabe regime. This article undertakes a broad analysis of the theoretical questions underlying the Zimbabwe debate, pointing to particular problems relating to the legacies of political economy, nation and race, and the challenges of developing democratic alternatives in the current global context. The article also situates these problems within a broader, critical historiographical reading of the Zimbabwean crisis. Finally, central to the argument of the article is the concern that issues relating to democratisation and human rights, as well as historical agency, are not peripheralised by the necessary demands for economic reconstruction, which can often lead to an overwhelming economism in political analysis.