Violence, Patronage Politics and Farm Ownership in Zimbabwean Land Reform

Land Distribution and Post-Distribution Realities

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20404243
AutoresKwashirai Zvokuomba (0000-0002-8152-9621, University of Johannesburg Department of Sociology https://dx.doi.org/61799 Johannesburg South Africa), Kezia Batisai (0000-0003-3638-8564, University of Johannesburg Department of Sociology https://dx.doi.org/61799 Johannesburg South Africa)
Año2023
Volumen16
Número2
Páginas197-221
Fecha de publicación2023-10-05
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAfrica Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0974-4061 • E-ISSN: 0974-4061
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/09744061-bja10097
OpenAlexW4387405506
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas16

This article explores the “violence–politics of patronage” nexus of land redistribution and ownership after land reform in Zimbabwe. Foregrounding an analysis of the violence on farms, which has been explored by many scholars in other dimensions, the article presents hard evidence of what happened on these farms post the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. Deploying Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, this article interrogates the sociocultural and political linkages of violence, patronage and farm ownership to illuminate the dark realities of land distribution after “ jambanja ” (farm invasions). The violent behaviour around resettled lands is a manifestation of a well-entrenched patronage system in which those whose political views diverge from the “hegemonic power” lose their land through unscrupulous acts. The violence of the jambanja era, initially targeted at white farmers within the context of a “nativist land revolution”, continues to manifest itself in communities, albeit differently. It is, as the French thinker, Jacques Mallet du Pan, said of the French Revolution, “the revolution devouring its own children”

Foregrounding · Geography · Hegemony · Land grabbing · Land reform · Land tenure · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Land Rights and Reforms · Law