Lived Experiences of Borderland Communities in Zimbabwe

This book examines the national borders and borderlands of Zimbabwe through the presentation of empirically rich case studies. It delves into the lived experiences, both past and present, of populations residing along the borders between Zimbabwe and its neighbours, i.e., Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique. It locates these lived experiences within the political economy of Zimbabwe, and highlights a wide range of themes pertinent to borders, including health, COVID-19, marginalisation, resource access, conservation, human-wildlife conflicts, civil wars, politico-economic crises, border jumping and cross border trade. The borderland communities discussed also include ethnic minorities such as the Tonga, San, Ndau, Shangane, and Kalanga. Overall, the book demonstrates the centrality of borders to the Zimbabwean nation-state and the importance of reading history, politics and society from the borderlands. The book fits into the wider prevailing literature of border and borderlands in Africa and beyond and thus has appeal far beyond Zimbabwe. Its diverse themes also relate to topics covered in multiple disciplines, including history, anthropology, and sociology. Academics, development specialists and policy makers will benefit in different ways from the depth and breadth of the analysis in the book.

Auteur

Nedson Pophiwa: is a senior lecturer in monitoring and evaluation at the Wits School of Governance. He holds a PhD in Economic History from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research interests are in governance, public service delivery, cross-border shopping and informal cross-border trade. Joshua Matanzima: is a Research Officer at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (Sustainable Minerals Institute), The University of Queensland, Australia. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from La Trobe University, Australia. He carries out research on development and mining- induced displacements, anthropology of landscapes, human- wildlife conflicts, social aspects of energy transition and mining, Indigenous land return processes, livelihoods and marginalization as well as borderlands economies. He is co- editor of Livelihoods of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Zimbabwe and Tonga Livelihoods in Rural Zimbabwe. Kirk Helliker: is an Emeritus Research Professor in the Department of Sociology at Rhodes University in South Africa where he heads the Unit of Zimbabwean Studies. He continues to supervise Zimbabwean PhD students and publishes widely on Zimbabwean society and history.