Zimbabwe is in the news, and George Karekwaivanane, University of Edinburgh has come out with The Struggle over State Power in Zimbabwe: Law and Politics since 1950. From Cambridge University Press:
Introduction
1. Laying down the law: a historical background, 1890–1950
2. Customising justice and constructing subjects: state, "customary law" and Chiefs' Courts, 1950–1980
3. Legislating against dissent: law, race and politics, 1950–1964
4. Legality without legitimacy: law and politics during UDI, 1965–1980
5. Intermediaries, intellectuals and translators: African lawyers and the struggles in the legal arena, 1950–1980
6. Law and transformation: remaking the legal system in postcolonial Zimbabwe, 1980–1990
7. Continuity and consolidation: law and politics in Zimbabwe, 1980–1990
8. "The past as prologue": law and politics in Zimbabwe, 1997–2008
Conclusion
Further information is available here.
Praise for the book:The establishment of legal institutions was a key part of the process of state construction in Africa, and these institutions have played a crucial role in the projection of state authority across space. This is especially the case in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe. George Karekwaivanane offers a unique long-term study of law and politics in Zimbabwe, which examines how the law was used in the constitution and contestation of state power across the late-colonial and postcolonial periods. Through this, he offers insight on recent debates about judicial independence, adherence to human rights, and the observation of the rule of law in contemporary Zimbabwean politics. The book sheds light on the prominent place that law has assumed in Zimbabwe's recent political struggles for those researching the history of the state and power in Southern Africa. It also carries forward important debates on the role of law in state-making, and will also appeal to those interested in African legal history.
This dense and powerful book reminds us that independence and majority rule (and democratization and neoliberalism) are not breaks with the past but the result of the past, and past struggles over rights and with rights - who has them, who can act on them, and who can articulate them. -Luise WhiteTable of Contents after the jump.
Introduction
1. Laying down the law: a historical background, 1890–1950
2. Customising justice and constructing subjects: state, "customary law" and Chiefs' Courts, 1950–1980
3. Legislating against dissent: law, race and politics, 1950–1964
4. Legality without legitimacy: law and politics during UDI, 1965–1980
5. Intermediaries, intellectuals and translators: African lawyers and the struggles in the legal arena, 1950–1980
6. Law and transformation: remaking the legal system in postcolonial Zimbabwe, 1980–1990
7. Continuity and consolidation: law and politics in Zimbabwe, 1980–1990
8. "The past as prologue": law and politics in Zimbabwe, 1997–2008
Conclusion
Further information is available here.
