This paper critically engages dominant understandings of African state (in)capacity, particularly notions of state 'failure', 'fragility' and 'weakness'. Drawing from Ali Al'amin Mazrui's (1977) delineations of latent, imminent, and active instability, it is argued that the contemporary 'Westphalian' international system and the nation-state are characterised by latent-imminent instability. The latter and global process of policy transfer, diffusion and convergence are the primary causes of African state instability. Thus, the governance challenges facing African states are principally due to the regulatory or jurisdictional competition that characterises the contemporary re-scaling of governance and 'traditional power' re-strategisation, as well as African leaders' failure to view the nation-state as a transitional mode of governance. Using Zimbabwe as a case study, it is argued that the country is neither a weak, fragile or failed state. Rather, it is a strong unstable state that highlights the need to reconceptualise democracy in Africa.