Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaften und öffentliche Angelegenheiten
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A Review of Negotiated Settlements as Conflict Resolution Strategies in Zimbabwe

Listen Tererai Mtize

The history of negotiated settlements is not a new concept within African perspective. It has been a widely used conflict resolution strategy. Likewise, Zimbabwe has encountered more than three negotiated settlements who have served as conflict and peace strategy in one way or the other. The aim of the paper is to highlight negotiated settlements as structures of durable peace. This is only achievable when the structures themselves are made effective by the selective participant actors. The history of negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe can be traced to ancient times before colonial but the most recorded include the 1979 Zimbabwe-Rhodesia; 1980 Lancaster House Agreement; the 9187 Unity Accord; and the 2009 GNU. All these have similarities in fighting for inequality and the protection of human rights. Since colonialization the majority have been subject to discriminatory policies by elite ruling class founded by the white racist regime. Hence the paper analyzed existing literature which is awash with success and failures of negotiated settlements without understanding how these structures actually work in developing countries. The paper gives a nuanced approach highlighting on the major four negotiated settlements and their reasons for existence, as a way to elaborate how negotiated settlements have been utilized and implemented in Zimbabwe. The paper thus creates a sense of how these negotiated settlements have by far been used as conflict resolution strategies in the country and how well can their structures be mended for future use.