Abstract
The chapter examines whether civil society has forged partnerships, formal and informal, with the NPRC to build peace in Zimbabwe. Using Spurk’s functional model, the findings of the study evinces that civil society mostly carries out parallel activities suggesting a weak partnership with the NPRC. This weakness arises from two factors framing civil society activity: confrontation; and the loss of empirical independence by aligning with opposition politics. Nonetheless, when performing the functions of protection and monitoring, independently or with the symbolic involvement of the NPRC, civil society has tended to be effective compared to engaging in facilitation, socialisation and community building.
Dr. Lawrence Mhandara is a senior lecturer in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Zimbabwe.
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Mhandara, L. (2022). Zimbabwe’s National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and Civil Society: Partners in Peacebuilding?. In: Kiyala, J.C.K., Harris, G.T. (eds) Civil Society and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science, vol 34. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95179-5_9
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