Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tragic Optimism: A Psychobiography of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Beyond WEIRD: Psychobiography in Times of Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Perspectives

Abstract

For many Zimbabweans, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (1952–2018) became the face of courage and hope during his political career. Tsvangirai was subjected to and witnessed political violence, physical abuse, brutality, emotional humiliation, unlawful detentions, and persecution. He challenged the ruling party in Zimbabwe, and his leadership gave many people hope for the future. In the context of living in a colonial era, poverty, and having to endure the brutality of the Mugabe era, he lived a meaningful life that saw him becoming a Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (2009–2013). This single-case study explores and describes Tsvangirai’s life and interprets it in terms of Frankl’s existential theory. More specifically, Tsvangirai’s life is interpreted from the perspective of Frankl’s three triads, the fundamental, meaning, and tragic triads, as well as the noetic dimension. Tsvangirai was selected through purposive sampling based on his important role in Zimbabwean politics. The primary source of data was biographical and autobiographical publications. The findings indicate that Tsvangirai shifted emphasis within the meaning triad in living a meaningful life and that he was able to use the human capacity of self-distancing/detachment and self-transcendence to find meaning in his life. This chapter sheds light on how individuals make sense of their circumstances and search for meaning and purpose in adverse conditions. It also contributes towards the development of psychobiographical research among non-WEIRD samples.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, J. W., & Dunlop, W. L. (2019). Executing psychobiography. In C.-H. Mayer & Z. Kőváry (Eds.), New trends in psychobiography (pp. 11–33). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16953-4_2

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Biti, T. (2015). Rebuilding Zimbabwe: Lessons from a coalition government. Centre for Global Development. http://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/Tendai-Biti-Zimbabwe-Sept-2015.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Booysen, S. (2014). The decline of Zimbabwe’s movement for democratic change - Tsvangirai: Public opinion polls posting the writing on the wall. Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 84(1), 53–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper (Ed.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology (Vol. 2). American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitiyo, K. (2018). Tsvangirai leaves an important political legacy in Southern Africa. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2018/02/tsvangirai-leaves-important-political-legacy-southern-africa

  • Du Plessis, C. (2017). The method of psychobiography: Presenting a stepwise approach. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 14(2), 216–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2017.1284290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Economic Times. (2008, June). Zimbabwe inflation now over 1 million percent. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-06-13/news/27696937_1_zimbabweinflation-zimbabwe-dollars-harare

  • Fabry, J. (1988). Guideposts to meaning. Discovering what really matters. New Harbinger Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fabry, J. B. (2013). The pursuit of meaning: Viktor Frankl, logotherapy, and life. Purpose Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrer, C. R., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2020). Exploring the final years of the life of John F. Kennedy Jr.: A mixed methods psychobiographical case study. The Qualitative Report, 25(10), 3583–3601. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontein, J. (2018). Political accidents in Zimbabwe. Kronos, 44(1), 33–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fouché, J. P. (2015). The ‘coming of age’ for Southern African psychobiography. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 25(5), 375–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2015.1101261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fouché, J. P., Smit, R., Watson, M. B., & Van Niekerk, R. (2007). Psychobiographical research in South Africa: A systematic review from 1995–2004. Paper presented at the Psychological Society of South Africa Congress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fouché, J. P., & Van Niekerk, R. (2005). Psychobiography: An interdisciplinary approach between psychology and biography in the narrative reconstruction of personal lives. Paper presented at the International Society of Theoretical Psychology Conference, University of Cape Town.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fouché, J. P., & Van Niekerk, R. (2009). The emergence of South African academic psychobiography: The significance of academically institutionalised life history studies for postgraduate research and supervision. Poster presented at the 15th South African Psychology Congress, International Convention Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fouché, J. P., & Van Niekerk, R. (2010). Academic psychobiography in South Africa, past, present, and future. South Africa Journal of Psychology, 40(4), 495–507. https://doi.org/10.1177/008124631004000410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (1967). Psychotherapy and existentialism. Selected papers on logotherapy. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (1997). Recollections – An autobiography. Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (2004). On the theory and therapy of mental disorders: An introduction to logotherapy and existential analysis. Brunner-Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust (6th ed.). Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (2011). Man’s search for ultimate meaning. Ebury Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (2012). The doctor and the soul: From psychotherapy to logotherapy. Souvenir Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (2014). The will to meaning: Foundations and applications of logotherapy. Penguin Plume.

    Google Scholar 

  • Globalisation and Monetary Policy Institute. (2011). 2011 Annual Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. www.dallasfed.org

  • Hanke, S. (2008). Zimbabwe: Hyperinflation to growth. New Zanj Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanke, S. (2018). Dollarisation. In R. Kolb (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopaedia of business ethics and society (pp. 962–964). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483381503.n333

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hudleston, S. (2008). Face of courage: A biography of Morgan Tsvangirai. Double Storey Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. (2010). ‘Nothing is straight in Zimbabwe’: The rise of the kukiya-kiya economy 2000-2008. Journal of Southern African Studies, 36(2), 285–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lukas, E. (2014). Meaning in suffering: Comfort in crisis through logotherapy (2nd ed.). Purpose Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lukas, E., & Hirsch, B. Z. (2002). Logotherapy. In F. W. Kaslow (Ed.), Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy: Interpersonal/humanistic/existential (pp. 333–356). John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lukas, E., & Hirsch, B. Z. (2020). Meaningful living: Introduction to logotherapy theory and practice. Purpose Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H. (2021). Albert Camus—A psychobiographical approach in times of Covid-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 644579. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644579

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Kelley, J. L. (2021). The emperor of fashion’s new starts—Karl Lagerfeld’s creativity and meaning in life in a psychobiographical perspective. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 17(3), 152–163. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.4521

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mujakachi, M.P. (2017). Language use in the representation of the former Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s marriage saga in selected Zimbabwean newspapers: The case of The Herald and the Daily News. Unpublished Masters dissertation, University of Venda.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyambabvu, G. (2013). Zimbabwe: Mugabe Ridicules ‘Ignoramus’ Outgoing PM. https://allafrica.com/stories/201308260444.html.

  • Nyarota, S., Kavila, W., Mupunga, N., & Ngundu, T. (2015). An empirical assessment of binding constraints to Zimbabwe’s growth dynamics. RBZ Working Paper Series, 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phiri, M. (2022). Hope fades for voters in Zimbabwe. https://mg.co.za/africa/2022-02-18-hope-fades-for-voters-in-zimbabwe/

  • Ponterotto, J. G. (2014). Best practices in psychobiographical research. Qualitative Psychology, 1(1), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponterotto, J. G., & Reynolds, J. D. (2017). Ethical and legal considerations in psychobiography. American Psychologist, 72(3), 446–458. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000047

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Runyan, W. M. (1981). Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear? The problem of alternative explanations in psychobiography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40(6), 1070–1077. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.40.6.1070

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, W. T. (2005). Introduction. In W. T. Schultz (Ed.), The handbook of psychobiography (pp. 3–18). Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shantall, T. (2003). The quest for destiny: A logotherapeutic guide to meaning-centred living, therapy and counselling. University of South Africa Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shantall, T. (2020). The life-changing impact of Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy. Cham.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tsvangirai, M., & Bango, W. T. (2011). Morgan Tsvangirai: At the deep end. Penguin Random House South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Niekerk, R., Prenter, T., & Fouché, J. P. (2019). Doing psychobiography: The case of Christiaan Barnard. In S. Laher, S. Kramer, & A. Fynn (Eds.), Transforming research methods in the social sciences case-studies from South Africa (pp. 168–185). Johannesburg.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (Ed.). (2012). The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2014). Viktor Frankl’s meaning-seeking model and positive psychology. In A. Batthyany & P. Russo-Netzer (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 149–184). Cham.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Tinashe Harry

  2. Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha, South Africa

    Roelf van Niekerk

Authors
  1. Tinashe Harry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roelf van Niekerk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tinashe Harry .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Claude-Hélène Mayer

  2. Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha, South Africa

    Roelf van Niekerk

  3. Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Paul J.P. Fouché

  4. Division of Psychological & Educational Services, Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY, USA

    Joseph G. Ponterotto

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Harry, T., van Niekerk, R. (2023). Tragic Optimism: A Psychobiography of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. In: Mayer, CH., van Niekerk, R., Fouché, P.J., Ponterotto, J.G. (eds) Beyond WEIRD: Psychobiography in Times of Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28827-2_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation