Militarisation and Political (In)security in Contemporary Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article augments studies on authoritarianism and civil-military relations in Africa by examining how militarization shapes political security. It uses the case of Zimbabwe, the concepts of militarization and political security defined from a human security perspective, and primary and secondary sources to argue that militarizing politics and the state severely undermines political security. The article shows that the increased human rights violations, disregard of the rule of law, and absence of political freedom in Zimbabwe were principally owing to militarization. It concludes that though a militarized, electoral authoritarian state effectively safeguards regime security, it cannot provide political security, among other human security elements.