Land Reform

    On March 16th, Zimbabweans voted on a new Constitution in a national referendum. The voting was largely peaceful, and the turnout higher than expected, with over 3 million people voting. With all major parties supporting it, the result was

Read the rest of Zimbabwe has a new Constitution, but disputes over the land provisions continue — by Ian Scoones »

A new paper in the Journal of Agrarian Change by the team that wrote the Zimbabwe’s Land Reform book examines the processes of rural differentiation that have occurred following land reform in 2000, and their political and economic consequences. The

Read the rest of Class and rural differentiation after land reform in Zimbabwe and Two New Land Reform books– by Ian Scoones »

On the surface of it, it would appear that the political dispute over the Save Valley Conservancy in South Eastern Zimbabwe is yet another story of ‘illegal land-grabs’. It must however be said at the onset that this is an

Read the rest of Zimbabwe’s Save Valley Conservancy, Indigenisation and ‘The Lie of the Land’ — by Takura Zhangazha »

The international media has had an appalling record of balanced reporting on Zimbabwe over the last 12 years. A single narrative, repeating the myths we attempted to demolish in our book is endlessly repeated. All is disaster, the land reform

Read the rest of A media glasnost for Zimbabwe coverage? — by Ian Scoones »

Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry is booming once again. From the low point in 2008, at the peak of hyperinflation, when only 48m kg was sold, optimistic estimates for 2012 suggest that around 150m kg will be sold, with prices early in the

Read the rest of The golden leaf: boom time in Zimbabwe — by Ian Scoones »

Winter in Harare is almost over. Walking my kids to school in the morning across frosty vleis, strewn with festering rubbish, we see the first signs of the agricultural season awakening. Litter is being raked into piles, maize stalks cleared

Read the rest of Conflicts over urban agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe – by Anna Brazier »

Zimbabwe’s political crisis continues with political parties’ internal divides exposed by Wikileaks revelations, the coalition government at loggerheads on fundamental issues and the prospect of a violent election period in the coming year. Yet with the stabilisation of the currency

Read the rest of Zimbabwe land issue: Voices from the Field– Ian Scoones »

This blog is called ‘Rethinking Zimbabwe’. It seems that a lot of people in Zimbabwe want some rethinking about the operations of international NGOs and aid agencies here. This is, of course, not a new conversation: international NGOs and donor

Read the rest of Zimbabwe: International NGOs and aid agencies – Parasites of the Poor? – by Diana Jeater »

by Blessing-Miles Tendi I have made two research trips to Zimbabwe in the last 5 months. On both trips the subject matter of the recently launched book Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: Myths and Realities (by Ian Scoones, Nelson Marongwe, Blasion Mavedzenge,

Read the rest of Zimbabwe: Observations from Harare about a book on land by Blessing-Miles Tendi »