1. Positive Feedback and Vicious Circles
Zimbabwe

2. Preview Colonial Zimbabwe Independent Zimbabwe
Non-inclusive economies and non-inclusive governments
Economic and social indicators

3. Colonial Zimbabwe
In 1890, Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company sent a military expedition into the kingdom of the Ndebele, based Matabeleland, and also into the neighboring Mashonaland.
Its superiors weapons quickly suppressed African resistance, and it formed the colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1901.
Rhodes originally anticipated making money there from minerals, but ventures were not very profitable.
Instead rich farmland began attracting white farmers.

4. Zimbabwe

5. Zimbabwe

6. Colonial Zimbabwe
By 1923, white settlers had separated from the British South Africa Company and persuaded the British government to give them a colonial mandate.
Like in South Africa a decade earlier, the white settlers decided to create a separate political and legal system based on race, called apartheid, in 1923.

7. Independent Zimbabwe
In 1965, Ian Smith and his white-led government declared independence from Britain.
Like in South Africa, black citizens organized a guerrilla resistance from bases in Mozambique and Zambia to fight the white-led government.
Eventually Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) negotiated an end to white rule in 1980.

8. Non-inclusive economies and non-inclusive governments
But like in Sierra Leone two decades earlier, one leader, Mr. Mugabe, soon consolidated power either by killing or co-opting his opponents after independence from Britain.
In the base of support for ZAPU, Matabeleland, up to 20,000 people were killed in the early 1980s.
But in 1987, ZAPU merged with ZANU to create ZANU-PF with Mr. Mugabe as the leader.
Mr. Mugabe rewrote the constitution, making himself president and abolishing the right to vote for whites.
In 1990, he abolished the Senate and nominated all legislators in the other House.

9. Non-inclusive economies and non-inclusive governments
And like Sierra Leone, the government was responsible for
regulating many prices and tariffs on goods and services, in particular through an agricultural marketing board,
and for overseeing state-run firms.
Government employment expanded after independence, with jobs given to ZANU-PF members.
Businessmen who were not connected to the ZANU-PF could not operate due to restrictive regulations.
However, the agricultural export sector, controlled by whites, was initially untouched.

10. Non-inclusive economies and non-inclusive governments
By 1991, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) arose to challenge Mr. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.
But in the 1995 elections, which many viewed as fraudulent or unfair, the ZANU-PF handily defeated the MDC.
The presidential elections in 1996 showed similar results.

11. Non-inclusive economies and non-inclusive governments
But by 2000, the ZANU-PF took only 49% of the popular vote and 63 seats in parliamentary elections.
To gain support, Mr. Mugabe encouraged black squatters to expropriate white-owned land.
Agricultural production collapsed and Mr. Mugabe resorted to printing an increasing amount of fiat money to buy patronage.
More generally, violence, intimidation, nepotism, corruption and fraud were common.
In 2013, Mr. Mugabe won 61% of the popular vote in the presidential elections.
See from 2:00-7:44.

12. Non-inclusive economies and non-inclusive governments
Due to deteriorating condition, the ZANU-PF has agreed to power sharing with the MDC, but violence and political intimidation still occur:
from 2:30- 12:35.

13. Economic and social indicators

14. Economic and social indicators

15. Economic and social indicators

16. Economic and social indicators

17. Economic and social indicators