The Winding road to stabilisation: application of post-conflict recovery responses and frameworks in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper argues that Zimbabwe needs a post-conflict recovery response and identifies priority actions to support a political evolution and socio-economic recovery. The study further suggests immediate steps donors and policymakers can take to heal the wounds of Zimbabweans and lift the majority from miserable poverty. While peacebuilding is a multi-faceted process requiring holistic approaches, it needs to be guided by a hierarchy of priorities established in response to the specific needs and political dynamics in a given context. Establishing such a hierarchy requires an overall political strategy. The people of Zimbabwe like any other post-conflict society must own the reconstruction process. This must go beyond common rhetoric.