Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions

In the context of the Zimbabwe crisis of the early 2000s, both popular and academic accounts frequently discussed Zimbabweans as passive victims of their government, hereby suggesting that the extensive efforts of the state to create a ‘patriotic’ citizenry through the cultural project of the Third...

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Main Author: Wendy Willems
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Johannesburg 2022-10-01
Series:Communicare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1670
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author Wendy Willems
author_facet Wendy Willems
author_sort Wendy Willems
collection DOAJ
description In the context of the Zimbabwe crisis of the early 2000s, both popular and academic accounts frequently discussed Zimbabweans as passive victims of their government, hereby suggesting that the extensive efforts of the state to create a ‘patriotic’ citizenry through the cultural project of the Third Chimurenga were largely successful. This article argues that the absence of physical protests in the streets should not be equated with an absence of resistance. By adopting a narrow focus on the forms of resistance associated with dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions, journalists and scholars neglected the everyday forms of resistance - such as popular humour and rumour - by means of which Zimbabweans sought to challenge the state. These nascent forms of resistance could have been drawn upon in a more sustained way by the political opposition and civil society in order to provoke political change.
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publisher University of Johannesburg
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-ec06a6f9e22148d1b13c02e8a3c25dd42025-01-20T08:54:17ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0129sed-110.36615/jcsa.v29ised-1.1670Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellionsWendy Willems0University of the Witwatersrand In the context of the Zimbabwe crisis of the early 2000s, both popular and academic accounts frequently discussed Zimbabweans as passive victims of their government, hereby suggesting that the extensive efforts of the state to create a ‘patriotic’ citizenry through the cultural project of the Third Chimurenga were largely successful. This article argues that the absence of physical protests in the streets should not be equated with an absence of resistance. By adopting a narrow focus on the forms of resistance associated with dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions, journalists and scholars neglected the everyday forms of resistance - such as popular humour and rumour - by means of which Zimbabweans sought to challenge the state. These nascent forms of resistance could have been drawn upon in a more sustained way by the political opposition and civil society in order to provoke political change. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1670Zimbabwe crisisforms of resistancerevolutionsrebellionsThird Chimurengapolitical change
spellingShingle Wendy Willems
Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
Communicare
Zimbabwe crisis
forms of resistance
revolutions
rebellions
Third Chimurenga
political change
title Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
title_full Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
title_fullStr Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
title_full_unstemmed Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
title_short Beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
title_sort beyond dramatic revolutions and grand rebellions
topic Zimbabwe crisis
forms of resistance
revolutions
rebellions
Third Chimurenga
political change
url https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1670
work_keys_str_mv AT wendywillems beyonddramaticrevolutionsandgrandrebellions