Zimbabwe has moved from a condition of restricted expression to one of many contradictory expressions. Politics has lost none of its compromises and conflicts, but it has been amplified by an explosion of voices. For the first time, a genuine debate is possible among many actors, insiders and outsiders, and the question marks over Zimbabwe and its future are no longer in terms of a narrow choice between one party and another, one outlook or another. Compromise government has meant complexity of debate. This does not preclude disillusionment within debate, but it does include vigour and imagination in debate.

This book includes essays from renowned scholars, governmental and diplomatic figures, and prioritises contributions by Zimbabweans themselves. The essays provide a blend of academic and practitioner observation and judgement which no other volume has done.

This book was published as a special issue of The Round Table.

Stephen Chan was a member of the 1980 Commonwealth Observer Group that oversaw the independence of Zimbabwe. He was Foundation Dean at SOAS, where he remains Professor of International Relations. He has published the authoritative works on both Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai. Ranka Primorac is Lecturer in English at Southampton. She lived 9 years in Zimbabwe and has published several books on the literature of the country, including the authoritative The Place Of Tears. Together, they edited the Routledge book, Zimbabwe in Crisis, 2007.