G Maringira
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 49550 |
|---|---|
| NOME | G Maringira |
| PRENOMES | G |
| SOBRENOME | Maringira |
| ASSINATURA | MARINGIRA G |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Sol Plaatje University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8071-641X |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 35 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 135 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 35 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2015 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 7 |
Guns and gun violence (part 1)—global perspectives
Gun violence is widespread around the globe, but the messages conveyed by its various manifestations, as well as by guns themselves, are deeply specific, both socially and historically. In this interview, Ieva Jusionyte and Godfrey Maringira discuss their research on gun violence in the US, Mexico, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recalling their own experiences with firearms—carrying them, firing them, and being thre…
Zimbabwean Army Deserters in South Africa
Scholarship on post-independence Zimbabwean soldiers ascertains that the military functions as perpetrators of political violence against unarmed civilians, with less emphasis on soldiers’ own dissatisfaction and disgruntlement with barrack lives and the politicization that took place within army barracks. This article examines the ways in which Zimbabwe soldiers were ‘made,’ later victimized in army barracks, deserted and lived their post army l…
When ex-combatants return to violent communities
Army Deserters in Exile
Desertion from the military does not turn soldiers into civilians. In this paper, I analyse military identity and embodied practices of soldiers who deserted from the Zimbabwe National Army and were exiled in South Africa. Soldiering is understood as an essence part of who they are, as men who risked their lives and invested in a career, which they later deserted. These soldiers had a particular sense of a military past which functioned at the di…
Youth Politics of Engagement and Resistance
While social media spaces have been explored, including the understanding of how political activism is enacted on social media and how those spaces have become spaces of political engagement and resistance, the question of the present and politically visible youth on social media remains critical in analysing youth as active political subjects. In this paper, we examine the ways in which authoritarian regimes have been challenged by tech-savvy mi…
Wartime soldiers, civilian relations
The military in Zimbabwean politics
The military remains active in Zimbabwean politics, yet military practices within and outside the barracks have received scant attention, especially regarding how the military sustains political parties in power. This article argues that the military is the power behind the survival of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) as a political party. Understanding the Zimbabwe military requires a detailed understanding of its …
We Are Not Our Parents’ – beyond Political Transition
The story of South Africa’s liberation struggle, from apartheid to constitutional democracy, is writ large with in-depth contributions from young people. Despite their historical involvement, young people have been noticeably absent from the transitional processes ushering in South Africa’s postapartheid dispensation. Their absence has created a crisis of legitimacy, particularly among those disillusioned young people who are unsentimental about …
Youth Political Mobilization
In this article, we argue that the “making” and deployment of political violence can be construed as hard work, in which political elites mobilize those from below to sustain their positions through the mobilization and doing of violence against perceived opposition political parties and or individuals. The article examines the ways in which former President Robert Mugabe instrumentalized his political relationship with his clients as a tool of p…
Politics, (Re)Possession and Resurgence of Student Protests in South African Universities
In post-apartheid South Africa, one of the central analytical questions is to do with the continuity of protests, in particular student movement protests that are highly driven by social, economic and political conditions in the present. In a social and political context of student protests, student movement is considered a threat to the state and a target for state violence. In this paper, we assert that student movement in contemporary South Af…
Discipline, punishment and defiance
In post-apartheid South Africa, on military integration, the new South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) faced numerous social and political challenges on integration, including former guerrillas absenting themselves from work without official leave. The paper examines the ways in which the Azania Peoples Liberation Army (APLA), an armed wing of the Pan Africanist Congress understood the ‘new’ army barracks as racialised and dominated by wh…
The Military Post-Mugabe
This article argues that, through the coup, the military has become more visible in national politics in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. The current situation under President Mnangagwa marks a qualitative difference with the military under Mugabe's rule. Currently, in now being more prominent, the military is politics and is the determinant of any political transition that may be forthcoming in Zimbabwe. However, if it deems it necessary, the military acco…
Soldiers, Masculinities, and Violence
In this paper I examine how male soldiers perpetrate political violence against civilian men and women, at home in Zimbabwe and at the war front in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Zimbabwe it is widely believed that men are generally more aggressive than women, and that when trained as soldiers, men become more violent, particularly in the context of political violence and war. In this paper I assert that the "making" of soldiers is delibera…
Decolonising sociology
The decolonisation of sociology continues to be characterised by debates on what it constitutes, in both theory and practice. While such debates are centred on a 'radical decolonisation', we argue that the decolonisation of sociological curricula is never final, but should be driven by and with 'hybridised' thinking on the knowledge which underpins the discipline. While the canonical thinking in sociology has come under serious critique, there ou…
Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe
This book explores the barrack experiences of soldiers in post-independence Zimbabwe, examining the concept of military professionalism within a state in political crisis. Drawing upon interviews with former soldiers of the Zimbabwe National Army, Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe casts a light on the oppression of soldiers by commanders who sought to repress and control the political thinking of their men. By contextualising the political, econ…
Management of the Global Fund aid programme in Botswana
This paper examines the institutional management of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) in Botswana. We analyse the often contested roles of the state and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as recipients of GFATM and partners in extending public health service provision to communities. Of importance is that Botswana's first GFATM grant had to be administratively closed, and the country was not awarded any other gran…
Spirituality and War
This special issue is about spirituality and war, and specifically the ways in which soldiers engage with spiritual ideas, beliefs and practices within the context of military deployments. The geog
Soldiers, Sacred Waters, and Landscapes
Zimbabwean soldiers deployed to the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, 1998–2002) feared death and misfortune, and patrolled the landscape of this war zone largely in terms of terrain they needed to dominate. Yet these soldiers’ guns and military tactics were understood to be challenged by spirits which eventually dictated the ways in which they operated. The paper reveals how the spirited landscapes of the war shaped soldiers’ beliefs…
When ex-combatants became peaceful
In post-colonial Africa ‘ex-combatant’, ‘war veteran’, ‘ex-fighter’, and ‘demobilised soldier’ are categories that denote a history of war, violence and conflict. In essence, these are labels which represent military identities. However, despite the view that the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) programme has failed to re-integrate ex-combatants into civilian life, in the absence of an expressed identity under the aegis of the …
Householding by Rank and File
Research Article| December 01 2017 Householding by Rank and File: The Married Quarters of the Zimbabwean National Army Godfrey Maringira Godfrey Maringira Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (2017) 37 (3): 456–462. https://doi.org/10.1215/1089201x-4279164 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Godfrey Mar…
When the military become a security and political threat
The military poses an ongoing threat to modern democratic rule in some African countries, especially in the Zimbabwean context. This paper reveals the ways in which Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) generals have played a political role in the Zimbabwean elections, an issue which is both a political threat and a security threat to the state. It is argued that the ways in which ZNA generals engage in the political process goes against Section 208(2) of…
Soldiers as victims
This paper examines the ways in which the military infringes on the social and political rights of soldiers who joined the Zimbabwe National Army in post-independence Zimbabwe. Contrary to the scholarly and policy debates that present Zimbabwean soldiers as the silent prop behind President Robert Mugabe and the perpetrators of political violence, this paper argues that these soldiers have also been victimised in army barracks. The victimhood of s…
Military corruption in war
This article examines the ways in which Zimbabwean foot soldiers engaged in military corrupt activities, stealing army rations from the trenches to resell in neighbouring civilian communities and Congolese soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The practice became widespread among and between senior and junior officers. However, this practice did not end with the war; rather it was carried over from the DRC war to the Zimbabwean army…
Politicization and resistance in the Zimbabwean national army
While the dominant discourse in Zimbabwe on and about soldiers is that they are perpetrators of political violence, this does not always reflect the lived experiences of soldiers who joined the army in post-independence Zimbabwe. Based on army deserters’ narratives emerging from 44 life history interviews and two focus groups, this article argues that not all soldiers have been supportive of President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF. Rather, ZANU-PF ha…
Politics, Privileges, and Loyalty in the Zimbabwe National Army
In postcolonial Africa, the military has become an actor in politics, often in ways that can be described as unprofessional. This paper focuses on the manner in which the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) has become heavily politicized since independence, directly supporting the regime of President Robert Mugabe while denigrating the opposition political party. The military metamorphosed, to all intents, into an extension of President Mugabe's polit…
Soldiers, Masculinities, and Violence
In this paper I examine how male soldiers perpetrate political violence against civilian men and women, at home in Zimbabwe and at the war front in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Zimbabwe it is widely believed that men are generally more aggressive than women, and that when trained as soldiers, men become more violent, particularly in the context of political violence and war. In this paper I assert that the "making" of soldiers is delibera…
Politicization and resistance in the Zimbabwean national army
While the dominant discourse in Zimbabwe on and about soldiers is that they are perpetrators of political violence, this does not always reflect the lived experiences of soldiers who joined the army in post-independence Zimbabwe. Based on army deserters’ narratives emerging from 44 life history interviews and two focus groups, this article argues that not all soldiers have been supportive of President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF. Rather, ZANU-PF ha…
Youth Political Mobilization
In this article, we argue that the “making” and deployment of political violence can be construed as hard work, in which political elites mobilize those from below to sustain their positions through the mobilization and doing of violence against perceived opposition political parties and or individuals. The article examines the ways in which former President Robert Mugabe instrumentalized his political relationship with his clients as a tool of p…
It's in My Blood
This article examines the habitus of soldiers who either deserted or resigned from the Zimbabwe National Army in the post-2000 crisis in Zimbabwe and now live in exile in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is based on the information provided by forty-four former soldiers who related their life histories and participated in informal conversations and group discussions. A main finding is that these men, even though they have left the army, hold on in …
Militarised Minds
This article focuses on how ex-combatants in South Africa remain militarised. Identities which were forged through resistance continue to be reproduced in different ways in post-conflict society. Military identity is a source of status and recognition in the everyday lives of ex-combatants, either as 'defenders of the community' or for individual gain. While some may argue that there is no such thing as military identity, the group of ex-combatan…
The security sector and the plunder of Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa alluvial diamonds
While the human rights impact of the deployment of state security agencies in the Chiadzwa diamond fields has been explored, it is important to continue to expose the increasing tendency within the sector to take public resources that should be protected by the state and used for the benefit of the people and channel them for personal gain. The security sector stranglehold of President Robert Mugabe and the ruling political party, the Zimbabwe Af…
The Military Post-Mugabe
This article argues that, through the coup, the military has become more visible in national politics in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. The current situation under President Mnangagwa marks a qualitative difference with the military under Mugabe's rule. Currently, in now being more prominent, the military is politics and is the determinant of any political transition that may be forthcoming in Zimbabwe. However, if it deems it necessary, the military acco…
Decolonising sociology
The decolonisation of sociology continues to be characterised by debates on what it constitutes, in both theory and practice. While such debates are centred on a 'radical decolonisation', we argue that the decolonisation of sociological curricula is never final, but should be driven by and with 'hybridised' thinking on the knowledge which underpins the discipline. While the canonical thinking in sociology has come under serious critique, there ou…
Politics, Privileges, and Loyalty in the Zimbabwe National Army
In postcolonial Africa, the military has become an actor in politics, often in ways that can be described as unprofessional. This paper focuses on the manner in which the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) has become heavily politicized since independence, directly supporting the regime of President Robert Mugabe while denigrating the opposition political party. The military metamorphosed, to all intents, into an extension of President Mugabe's polit…
Once a Soldier, a Soldier Forever
Through military training, soldiers' bodies are shaped and prepared for war and military-related duties. In the context these former Zimbabwean soldiers find themselves--that of desertion and 'underground life' in exile in South Africa--their military-trained bodies and military skills are their only resource. In this article, we explore the ways in which former soldiers maintain and 'reuse' their military-trained bodies in South Africa for survi…
Soldiers as victims
This paper examines the ways in which the military infringes on the social and political rights of soldiers who joined the Zimbabwe National Army in post-independence Zimbabwe. Contrary to the scholarly and policy debates that present Zimbabwean soldiers as the silent prop behind President Robert Mugabe and the perpetrators of political violence, this paper argues that these soldiers have also been victimised in army barracks. The victimhood of s…
Soldiering the terrain of war
The paper reveals how Zimbabwean soldiers who fought in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1998–2002) were challenged by the terrain of war. While soldiers are trained to live and fight in dreadful wars, I argue that immersing oneself in the war terrain is neither mathematical nor calculative; rather, war tactics to be employed are defined by the context in which soldiers operate in. When soldiers reflect on and about the war, they unconscious…
When the military became militarised
In post-colonial Africa, the military has been central to sustaining freedom. However, the current political trends in Zimbabwe represent a different phenomenon, with the army perpetrating violence against its own citizens. For many years, the concept of ‘militarisation’ has been used to define social and political practices outside the military. Scholars have deployed the concept of militarisation as a category of analysis and practice. In doing…
When the War De-Professionalises Soldiers
The narratives of Zimbabwean soldiers who fought in the Democratic Republic of Congo war (1998–2002) have received scant attention, particularly at a time when the professionalisation of the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) is questioned by scholars and, largely, by the private media, in and outside Zimbabwe. This article explores accounts of soldiers who joined the ZNA in post-independence Zimbabwe: those without a liberation history. The article …
The military in Zimbabwean politics
The military remains active in Zimbabwean politics, yet military practices within and outside the barracks have received scant attention, especially regarding how the military sustains political parties in power. This article argues that the military is the power behind the survival of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) as a political party. Understanding the Zimbabwe military requires a detailed understanding of its …
We Are Not Our Parents’ – beyond Political Transition
The story of South Africa’s liberation struggle, from apartheid to constitutional democracy, is writ large with in-depth contributions from young people. Despite their historical involvement, young people have been noticeably absent from the transitional processes ushering in South Africa’s postapartheid dispensation. Their absence has created a crisis of legitimacy, particularly among those disillusioned young people who are unsentimental about …
Politics, (Re)Possession and Resurgence of Student Protests in South African Universities
In post-apartheid South Africa, one of the central analytical questions is to do with the continuity of protests, in particular student movement protests that are highly driven by social, economic and political conditions in the present. In a social and political context of student protests, student movement is considered a threat to the state and a target for state violence. In this paper, we assert that student movement in contemporary South Af…
Soldiers, Sacred Waters, and Landscapes
Zimbabwean soldiers deployed to the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, 1998–2002) feared death and misfortune, and patrolled the landscape of this war zone largely in terms of terrain they needed to dominate. Yet these soldiers’ guns and military tactics were understood to be challenged by spirits which eventually dictated the ways in which they operated. The paper reveals how the spirited landscapes of the war shaped soldiers’ beliefs…
When ex-combatants became peaceful
In post-colonial Africa ‘ex-combatant’, ‘war veteran’, ‘ex-fighter’, and ‘demobilised soldier’ are categories that denote a history of war, violence and conflict. In essence, these are labels which represent military identities. However, despite the view that the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) programme has failed to re-integrate ex-combatants into civilian life, in the absence of an expressed identity under the aegis of the …
Political violence within army barracks
While studies on soldiers who leave the army have focused on them as perpetrators of political violence in war and peace, little is known about the ways in which soldiers have been subjected to violence. This paper examines the ways in which Zimbabwe National Army deserters who are currently in exile in South Africa experienced politically inspired violence in the army barracks and the ways in which they mediate and reify it through the image of …
Military corruption in war
This article examines the ways in which Zimbabwean foot soldiers engaged in military corrupt activities, stealing army rations from the trenches to resell in neighbouring civilian communities and Congolese soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The practice became widespread among and between senior and junior officers. However, this practice did not end with the war; rather it was carried over from the DRC war to the Zimbabwean army…
Army Deserters in Exile
Desertion from the military does not turn soldiers into civilians. In this paper, I analyse military identity and embodied practices of soldiers who deserted from the Zimbabwe National Army and were exiled in South Africa. Soldiering is understood as an essence part of who they are, as men who risked their lives and invested in a career, which they later deserted. These soldiers had a particular sense of a military past which functioned at the di…
Householding by Rank and File
Research Article| December 01 2017 Householding by Rank and File: The Married Quarters of the Zimbabwean National Army Godfrey Maringira Godfrey Maringira Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (2017) 37 (3): 456–462. https://doi.org/10.1215/1089201x-4279164 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Godfrey Mar…
Duty versus agency in the security state of Zimbabwe
When the military became militarised
In post-colonial Africa, the military has been central to sustaining freedom. However, the current political trends in Zimbabwe represent a different phenomenon, with the army perpetrating violence against its own citizens. For many years, the concept of ‘militarisation’ has been used to define social and political practices outside the military. Scholars have deployed the concept of militarisation as a category of analysis and practice. In doing…
When the War De-Professionalises Soldiers
The narratives of Zimbabwean soldiers who fought in the Democratic Republic of Congo war (1998–2002) have received scant attention, particularly at a time when the professionalisation of the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) is questioned by scholars and, largely, by the private media, in and outside Zimbabwe. This article explores accounts of soldiers who joined the ZNA in post-independence Zimbabwe: those without a liberation history. The article …
It's in My Blood
This article examines the habitus of soldiers who either deserted or resigned from the Zimbabwe National Army in the post-2000 crisis in Zimbabwe and now live in exile in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is based on the information provided by forty-four former soldiers who related their life histories and participated in informal conversations and group discussions. A main finding is that these men, even though they have left the army, hold on in …
Militarised Minds
This article focuses on how ex-combatants in South Africa remain militarised. Identities which were forged through resistance continue to be reproduced in different ways in post-conflict society. Military identity is a source of status and recognition in the everyday lives of ex-combatants, either as 'defenders of the community' or for individual gain. While some may argue that there is no such thing as military identity, the group of ex-combatan…
Once a Soldier, a Soldier Forever
Through military training, soldiers' bodies are shaped and prepared for war and military-related duties. In the context these former Zimbabwean soldiers find themselves--that of desertion and 'underground life' in exile in South Africa--their military-trained bodies and military skills are their only resource. In this article, we explore the ways in which former soldiers maintain and 'reuse' their military-trained bodies in South Africa for survi…
Duty versus agency in the security state of Zimbabwe
Soldiering the terrain of war
The paper reveals how Zimbabwean soldiers who fought in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1998–2002) were challenged by the terrain of war. While soldiers are trained to live and fight in dreadful wars, I argue that immersing oneself in the war terrain is neither mathematical nor calculative; rather, war tactics to be employed are defined by the context in which soldiers operate in. When soldiers reflect on and about the war, they unconscious…
Crime in rank and file
In 2011 I worked with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation on a project on ex-combatants. At the inaugural meeting for the project I was introduced to one of the ex-combatants, t
The security sector and the plunder of Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa alluvial diamonds
While the human rights impact of the deployment of state security agencies in the Chiadzwa diamond fields has been explored, it is important to continue to expose the increasing tendency within the sector to take public resources that should be protected by the state and used for the benefit of the people and channel them for personal gain. The security sector stranglehold of President Robert Mugabe and the ruling political party, the Zimbabwe Af…
Political violence within army barracks
While studies on soldiers who leave the army have focused on them as perpetrators of political violence in war and peace, little is known about the ways in which soldiers have been subjected to violence. This paper examines the ways in which Zimbabwe National Army deserters who are currently in exile in South Africa experienced politically inspired violence in the army barracks and the ways in which they mediate and reify it through the image of …
Householding by Rank and File
Research Article| December 01 2017 Householding by Rank and File: The Married Quarters of the Zimbabwean National Army Godfrey Maringira Godfrey Maringira Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (2017) 37 (3): 456–462. https://doi.org/10.1215/1089201x-4279164 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Godfrey Mar…
When the military become a security and political threat
The military poses an ongoing threat to modern democratic rule in some African countries, especially in the Zimbabwean context. This paper reveals the ways in which Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) generals have played a political role in the Zimbabwean elections, an issue which is both a political threat and a security threat to the state. It is argued that the ways in which ZNA generals engage in the political process goes against Section 208(2) of…
Soldiers as victims
This paper examines the ways in which the military infringes on the social and political rights of soldiers who joined the Zimbabwe National Army in post-independence Zimbabwe. Contrary to the scholarly and policy debates that present Zimbabwean soldiers as the silent prop behind President Robert Mugabe and the perpetrators of political violence, this paper argues that these soldiers have also been victimised in army barracks. The victimhood of s…
Military corruption in war
This article examines the ways in which Zimbabwean foot soldiers engaged in military corrupt activities, stealing army rations from the trenches to resell in neighbouring civilian communities and Congolese soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The practice became widespread among and between senior and junior officers. However, this practice did not end with the war; rather it was carried over from the DRC war to the Zimbabwean army…
Politicization and resistance in the Zimbabwean national army
While the dominant discourse in Zimbabwe on and about soldiers is that they are perpetrators of political violence, this does not always reflect the lived experiences of soldiers who joined the army in post-independence Zimbabwe. Based on army deserters’ narratives emerging from 44 life history interviews and two focus groups, this article argues that not all soldiers have been supportive of President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF. Rather, ZANU-PF ha…
Politics, Privileges, and Loyalty in the Zimbabwe National Army
In postcolonial Africa, the military has become an actor in politics, often in ways that can be described as unprofessional. This paper focuses on the manner in which the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) has become heavily politicized since independence, directly supporting the regime of President Robert Mugabe while denigrating the opposition political party. The military metamorphosed, to all intents, into an extension of President Mugabe's polit…
When ex-combatants became peaceful
In post-colonial Africa ‘ex-combatant’, ‘war veteran’, ‘ex-fighter’, and ‘demobilised soldier’ are categories that denote a history of war, violence and conflict. In essence, these are labels which represent military identities. However, despite the view that the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) programme has failed to re-integrate ex-combatants into civilian life, in the absence of an expressed identity under the aegis of the …
Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe
This book explores the barrack experiences of soldiers in post-independence Zimbabwe, examining the concept of military professionalism within a state in political crisis. Drawing upon interviews with former soldiers of the Zimbabwe National Army, Soldiers and the State in Zimbabwe casts a light on the oppression of soldiers by commanders who sought to repress and control the political thinking of their men. By contextualising the political, econ…
Management of the Global Fund aid programme in Botswana
This paper examines the institutional management of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) in Botswana. We analyse the often contested roles of the state and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as recipients of GFATM and partners in extending public health service provision to communities. Of importance is that Botswana's first GFATM grant had to be administratively closed, and the country was not awarded any other gran…
Spirituality and War
This special issue is about spirituality and war, and specifically the ways in which soldiers engage with spiritual ideas, beliefs and practices within the context of military deployments. The geog
Soldiers, Sacred Waters, and Landscapes
Zimbabwean soldiers deployed to the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, 1998–2002) feared death and misfortune, and patrolled the landscape of this war zone largely in terms of terrain they needed to dominate. Yet these soldiers’ guns and military tactics were understood to be challenged by spirits which eventually dictated the ways in which they operated. The paper reveals how the spirited landscapes of the war shaped soldiers’ beliefs…
Decolonising sociology
The decolonisation of sociology continues to be characterised by debates on what it constitutes, in both theory and practice. While such debates are centred on a 'radical decolonisation', we argue that the decolonisation of sociological curricula is never final, but should be driven by and with 'hybridised' thinking on the knowledge which underpins the discipline. While the canonical thinking in sociology has come under serious critique, there ou…
Politics, (Re)Possession and Resurgence of Student Protests in South African Universities
In post-apartheid South Africa, one of the central analytical questions is to do with the continuity of protests, in particular student movement protests that are highly driven by social, economic and political conditions in the present. In a social and political context of student protests, student movement is considered a threat to the state and a target for state violence. In this paper, we assert that student movement in contemporary South Af…
Discipline, punishment and defiance
In post-apartheid South Africa, on military integration, the new South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) faced numerous social and political challenges on integration, including former guerrillas absenting themselves from work without official leave. The paper examines the ways in which the Azania Peoples Liberation Army (APLA), an armed wing of the Pan Africanist Congress understood the ‘new’ army barracks as racialised and dominated by wh…
The Military Post-Mugabe
This article argues that, through the coup, the military has become more visible in national politics in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. The current situation under President Mnangagwa marks a qualitative difference with the military under Mugabe's rule. Currently, in now being more prominent, the military is politics and is the determinant of any political transition that may be forthcoming in Zimbabwe. However, if it deems it necessary, the military acco…
Political science (32 obras) · Sociology (30 obras) · Law (27 obras) · African studies and sociopolitical issues (25 obras) · Politics (24 obras) · Law (22 obras) · African history and culture studies (19 obras) · South African History and Culture (13 obras) · Criminology (12 obras) · Gender Studies (12 obras)