Youth and ZANU-PF socialist politics in post-independence Zimbabwe: The legacy of the youth brigades, c. 1980-1989

Abstract

This paper presents a history of youth political participation in Zimbabwe during the first decade of their independence, using the example of the Zimbabwe Youth Brigades between 1980 and 1989, when Zimbabwe viewed itself as a socialist state. It provides important knowledge about the political (ab)-use of youths, suggesting that due to political paranoia, which animated Mugabe’s desire for a one-party state, Zimbabwe lost a golden opportunity to democratise. While ostensibly created to foster a nonpartisan, politically conscious youth and to advance socialist development goals, Youth Brigades at times worked closely with the ZANU Youth League (YL) in a way that made the Brigades an increasingly important resource for ZANU’s partisan and violent politics. With the tacit approval and protection of the state, the Youth Brigades and the ZANU Youth League (YL) created a violent political culture and instilled fear in ordinary people, consequently blocking possibilities for democratic transformation.