Svein-Erik Helle (CMI/UiB) in conversation with Elling Tjønneland (CMI) and Victor Chimhutu (UiB/Zimbabwe Yadzoka).

Zimbabwe is currently at the center of world attention as the military are negotiating with Robert Mugabe about his exit after 37 years in power. Should current events be seen as a coup, or more as a factional struggle within the regime to clarify who will become the main man after Mugabe? How did it come to a situation where the military had to intervene? What are the consequences of this intervention, both for Mugabe himself, the regime, and Zimbabwean society at large? And what role should the international community play in the current process? These are some of the questions we will address in this breakfast seminar.

To help us understand current events we will be joined by the following panel:

Elling Tjønneland, Senior Researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI). Tjønneland is a political scientist with over 30 years of experience from work on developmental issues, democracy and civil society with a particular focus on Southern Africa. He has collected data, written and commented on Zimbabwean politics almost since Mugabe came to power.

Victor Chimhutu, Post-doctoral fellow at the Hemil Centre (UiB) and one of the founders of movement Zimbabwe Yadzoka. Chimhutu is a Zimbabwean scholar working on health systems at the Hemil Centre at the University of Bergen. He is also an activist working through the Zimbabwe Yadzoka movement to promote knowledge-based participation among marginalized communities in Zimbabwe.

The discussion will be lead by Svein-Erik Helle, Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bergen and Researcher at CMI attached to the research project Understanding the Backlash Against Democracy in Africa. 

Welcome!