Surveillance, Spying and Disciplining the University: Deployment of State Security Agents on Campus in Zimbabwe

Gukurume, Simbarashe

doi:10.1177/0021909619833414

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…Indeed, in 2019, a BBC undercover documentary film also revealed the endemic nature of "sex for grades" relationships at West African universities (BBC News, 2019). Similarly, in Zimbabwe, as the economic crisis on campus deepened (Gukurume, 2019a(Gukurume, , 2019b, many students struggled to survive, and this created an environment where transactional relationships were initiated and enacted.…”

Section: Transactional Relationships In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transactional Relationships Within a University Campus in Zimbabwe

Gukurume

2021

The Oriental Anthropologist

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Research on transactional sex and relationships within university spaces is growing. Much of this research focuses on the intergenerational nature and the centrality of sex and money in such relationships. However, little attention has been paid to transactional relationships that do not necessarily involve money and that involve people within the university such as students and nonacademic university workers. As such, there is a dearth of research on campus-based transactional relationships involving students themselves and university workers where nonmaterial resources other than money are central in mediating such relationships. This article attempts to fill this knowledge gap by examining the complex dynamics of transactional relationships within a university campus in Zimbabwe. The empirical findings shows that scarce resources in the midst of growing student enrolment compel many, especially female students to venture into the campus “sexual economy” to make do and get by. In a context of lack, and protracted economic crisis, students become vulnerable to transactional sex to access scarce resources such as good grades, accommodation, and books. Therefore, the campus sexual economy enables students to creatively navigate existential challenges on campus. I argue that the construction, perceptions, and experiences of transactional sex on campus are gendered and complex.

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Section: Transactional Relationships In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transactional Relationships Within a University Campus in Zimbabwe

Gukurume

2021

The Oriental Anthropologist

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“…The economic crisis compelled many people to resort to kukiya‐kiya (surviving by making do) (Jones, 2010), especially buying and selling forex on the street. People's livelihoods were mediated by and through practices of “ kujingirisa ” (multiple improvisational ways of getting by) (Gukurume, 2019a). These illicit practices of buying and selling forex on the streets were fueled by hyperinflation, and this compelled the government to respond through price control blitzes.…”

Section: Conceptualizing Youth Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The idea of “sell‐outs” is embedded in ZANU‐PF's discourse of “patriotic history” (Ranger, 2004), based on the creation of binaries, that of “patriots” and “sell‐outs.” As part of such patriotic history, Mugabe was celebrated as the past, present, and future leader of Zimbabwe (Tendi, 2008), ZANU‐PF loyalists were viewed as patriots while opposition politicians and supporters or perceived sympathizers were branded as “sell‐outs.” As such, suspected “sell‐outs” lived under real and perceived state surveillance from the youth militia, who acted as informers to the CIO. Indeed, some ZANU‐PF‐aligned youth were part of a sophisticated network of spies (see Gukurume, 2019a). Tino talked about how people fear(ed) their neighbors and how this anxiety has permeated into their daily activities and practices—including greeting and engaging strangers.…”

Section: Conceptualizing Youth Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, suspected "sell-outs" lived under real and perceived state surveillance from the youth militia, who acted as informers to the CIO. Indeed, some ZANU-PF-aligned youth were part of a sophisticated network of spies (see Gukurume, 2019a). Tino talked about how people fear(ed) their neighbors and how this anxiety has permeated into their daily activities and practices-including greeting and engaging strangers.…”

Section: Researching the Context Of Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Youth Political Mobilization: Violence, Intimidation, and Patronage in Zimbabwe

Maringira

Gukurume

2021

Political Psychology

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In this article, we argue that the "making" and deployment of political violence can be construed as hard work, in which political elites mobilize those from below to sustain their positions through the mobilization and doing of violence against perceived opposition political parties and or individuals. The article examines the ways in which former President Robert Mugabe instrumentalized his political relationship with his clients as a tool of political mobilization and perpetrating political violence in urban spaces where his electoral support base had dwindled. We argue that one of the remarkable ways in which Mugabe was able to remain in power for three decades was through his ability to creatively transform his influence and political position into a source of opportunities for his political clients, in particular the youth. We, therefore, assert that Mugabe extended and maintained his political patrimonial relationship with youths who did the work of political violence for him and his ZANU-PF party. The mobilization of youth political violence is therefore an "art of governing" from below. This article is based on ethnographic data collected between 2016 and 2017 from youth in Harare. We conducted in-depth interviews, life-history interviews, observations, and informal conversations with youth in Harare city, Zimbabwe.

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“…As a result, the political space available on university campuses became restricted when the government unleashed anti-riot police to quell student demonstrations in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The youth movement was also infiltrated by state security agents and weakened by interference by political parties (Gukurume 2019;Hodzi 2014). Student demonstrations have become rare on the country's university campuses with students splitting into ruling and opposition party-affiliated unions as already mentioned above.…”

Section: Youth Masculinities Gerontocracy and Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

4 - Youth Masculinities in Zimbabwe’s Congested Gerontocratic Political Space

Jaji¹

2021

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This article situates its discussion of young Zimbabwean men’s performance of masculinity in a restrictive political space in a broader continental context in which the majority of young people are politically and economically marginalised. It addresses how the older generation’s domination and monopolisation of political space presents obstacles to the youth’s aspiration to perform normative masculinity. The article also discusses various strategies the youth in Zimbabwe are devising to claim space in a political arena that can be characterised as a gerontocracy. The youth seek relevance in Zimbabwe’s congested and gerontocratic political space through strategies that range from co-opting gerontocratic masculinities to subverting them. Notwithstanding the divergence in these strategies, young people who adopt them to create and occupy space in Zimbabwe’s political terrain legitimise their choices by appealing to culture, thus showing how culture can be harnessed for contradictory objectives in the performance of masculinities. The strategies also draw from global trends involving the youth’s engagement in non-traditional political participation facilitated by their dominance of virtual, social media space. Rose Jaji, University of Zimbabwe. Email: rjaji@sociol.uz.ac.zw

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Surveillance, Spying and Disciplining the University: Deployment of State Security Agents on Campus in Zimbabwe

Cited by 19 publications

References 33 publications

Transactional Relationships Within a University Campus in Zimbabwe

Transactional Relationships Within a University Campus in Zimbabwe

Youth Political Mobilization: Violence, Intimidation, and Patronage in Zimbabwe

4 - Youth Masculinities in Zimbabwe’s Congested Gerontocratic Political Space

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