Reasons for Rejection - Explaining the Outcome of the 2000 Constitutional Referendum in Zimbabwe
(2005)Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- In this thesis we attempt to explain the outcome of the 2000 referendum in Zimbabwe, where the electorate rejected a new constitution. The puzzling problem is that the people of Zimbabwe said NO to what many observers considered a constitution superior to the already existing. This case study is partly based on primary material collected in Harare as a part of a field study. Our analysis is based on the actor-structure approach, a meta-theoretical model where actors and structures are seen as co-dependant and intertwining; Actors contribute to creating societal structures, which in turn affects actors.
We have found that the rejection of the new constitution had very little to do with the constitution itself and its contents. We believe... (More) - In this thesis we attempt to explain the outcome of the 2000 referendum in Zimbabwe, where the electorate rejected a new constitution. The puzzling problem is that the people of Zimbabwe said NO to what many observers considered a constitution superior to the already existing. This case study is partly based on primary material collected in Harare as a part of a field study. Our analysis is based on the actor-structure approach, a meta-theoretical model where actors and structures are seen as co-dependant and intertwining; Actors contribute to creating societal structures, which in turn affects actors.
We have found that the rejection of the new constitution had very little to do with the constitution itself and its contents. We believe the outcome of the referendum was caused by actor involvement or as a result of existing structures. Hence, we argue that ZANU(PF)'s and the NCA's actions, as well as the economic situation, the political climate and the constitutional setup were the main contributing causes for the rejection of a new constitution. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1328395
- author
- Holmgren, Olof and Olsson Selerud, Kristian
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2005
- type
- L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
- subject
- keywords
- Zimbabwe, referendum, constitution, actor-structure approach, Robert Mugabe, executive presidency, Political and administrative sciences, Statsvetenskap, förvaltningskunskap
- language
- English
- id
- 1328395
- date added to LUP
- 2006-01-09 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2006-02-10 00:00:00
@misc{1328395,
abstract = {{In this thesis we attempt to explain the outcome of the 2000 referendum in Zimbabwe, where the electorate rejected a new constitution. The puzzling problem is that the people of Zimbabwe said NO to what many observers considered a constitution superior to the already existing. This case study is partly based on primary material collected in Harare as a part of a field study. Our analysis is based on the actor-structure approach, a meta-theoretical model where actors and structures are seen as co-dependant and intertwining; Actors contribute to creating societal structures, which in turn affects actors.
We have found that the rejection of the new constitution had very little to do with the constitution itself and its contents. We believe the outcome of the referendum was caused by actor involvement or as a result of existing structures. Hence, we argue that ZANU(PF)'s and the NCA's actions, as well as the economic situation, the political climate and the constitutional setup were the main contributing causes for the rejection of a new constitution.}},
author = {{Holmgren, Olof and Olsson Selerud, Kristian}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Reasons for Rejection - Explaining the Outcome of the 2000 Constitutional Referendum in Zimbabwe}},
year = {{2005}},
}