Zimbabwe: Bad Governance Is Bad for Everyone

Governance is one of the most important issues of our time. Without accountable, reliable, farsighted governance, the global challenges and the needs of the population cannot be adequately addressed. Also, poor leadership can severely cripple a state’s economy and social welfare.

Take, for example, the case of Zimbabwe, where incumbent president Robert Mugabe is cracking down on threats to his power using any means possible. Not only has he been behind violence and detentions directed against his political opposition, he has also struck out against the people of his country, who are already suffering gravely.

Articles in both the New York Times and the Economist detail the violence against the Movement for a Democratic Change (MDC), whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, emerged as the front-runner in the March election. Now, as the June 27 runoff election between Tsvangirai and Mugabe approaches, the violence is escalating against the MDC. Amnesty International publicly condemned the arrest yesterday of Tsvangirai, who was detained, supposedly, for drawing a large crowd (on his campaign trail).

Over 25,000 displaced people will need to return to their wards in order to vote in the upcoming election, but with the ominous threat of continued violence, it is questionable whether they will be able to do so. This is compounded by Mugabe’s recent decision to force several aid groups, including CARE International, out of the state until after the election. Human Rights Watch reports that this will devastate the 4.1 million people already suffering from a food deficit and will therefore impact the election outcome.

Reverberations of Zimbabwe's political and economic instability are spreading throughout Africa and the rest of the world. Even today, according to the Foreign Policy Blog, diplomats from the U.S. and the UK who were visiting victims of political violence were seized and threatened with being burned alive. To quote MLK Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Zimbabwe reminds us of the crucial importance of good governance to the stability and health of a globalized world.

To learn more about the deteriorating human rights condition in Zimbabwe, view Human Rights Watch’s report, available here.