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Soziale Bewegungen und Politik in Zimbabwe

  • Blessmore Nhikiti ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 29. Mai 2024
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Zusammenfassung

Die Verbreitung sozialer Netzwerke wie Facebook und Twitter hat den sozialen Bewegungen in Simbabwe neue Wege eröffnet. Ob diese Bewegungen jedoch über ihre Hochphase hinaus Einfluss auf die Politikgestaltung hatten, ist noch nicht erforscht. Daher wurden in dieser Studie die Forderungen von Occupy Africa Unit Square (OAUS), #Tajamuka/Sesjikile (wir rebellieren) und #ThisFlag zwischen 2014 und 2016 untersucht. Diese werden den politischen Entwicklungen von 2016–2018 gegenübergestellt. Die Daten zu den Forderungen der Demonstranten wurden durch die passive Analyse von nutzergenerierten Text- und Videodaten generiert, die von den Facebook-Seiten der Aktivisten stammen. Sie wurden mittels Software qualitativ ausgewertet. Die Daten über langfristige politische Veränderungen in Simbabwe wurden per Sekundäranalyse erhoben. Dieser Artikel kommt zu dem Schluss, dass die Auswirkungen sozialer Bewegungen über ihre Hochphase hinaus berücksichtigt werden sollten. Die meisten sozialen Bewegungen konnten aufgrund von Widerständen herrschender Eliten keine unmittelbaren politischen Reformen erreichen. Allerdings wurden politische Maßnahmen, die den Forderungen der Demonstranten entsprachen, nach und nach umgesetzt. Somit ist eine umfassende Bewertung der Auswirkungen sozialer Bewegungen über einen längeren Zeitraum möglich.

Abstract

The proliferation of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter has opened up a new avenue for social movements in Zimbabwe. However, whether these movements have had an impact on policy making beyond their heyday is yet to be researched. This study therefore analysed the demands of Occupy Africa Unit Square (OAUS), #Tajamuka/Sesjikile (we rebel) and #ThisFlag between 2014 and 2016. These are contrasted with political developments from 2016–2018. The data on the protesters’ demands was generated by passively analysing user-generated text and video data from the activists’ Facebook pages. They were qualitatively analysed using software. Data on long-term political change in Zimbabwe was collected through secondary analysis. This article concludes that the impact of social movements should be considered beyond their peak phase. Most social movements were unable to achieve immediate political reforms due to resistance from ruling elites. However, policies that met the demands of the protesters were gradually implemented. This makes it possible to comprehensively assess the impact of social movements over a longer period of time.

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Online erschienen: 2024-05-29
Erschienen im Druck: 2024-05-28

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