Coming to Terms: Zimbabwe in the International Arena. (Reviews).

By Richard Schwarts [pounds sterling]39.50 I.B. Tauris 

ISBN 1-86064-647-6

This study of Zimbabwe's international relations, from the eve of independence to the mid-1990s, is clearly aimed at an academic readership. For all that, it is also a fascinating account of how a victorious and avowedly Marxist-Leninist liberation movement met the challenge of defining and applying a foreign policy that both reflected its own brand of revolutionary socialism while attempting a pragmatic engagement with the economic world-order of the day.

During an address to the UN General Assembly upon Zimbabwe's admission to the international body, Robert Mugabe, then Prime Minister, outlined five political principals that would guide his country's foreign policy direction. They would be, he asserted: a belief in 'national sovereignty and equality among nations; a dedication to 'the attainment of a socialist, egalitarian and democratic state; a recognition of the right of all peoples to self-determination and independence; non-racialism at home and abroad; and positive non-alignment and peaceful co-existence among countries with different socio-economic systems.

The author then sets about an analysis of Zimbabwe's foreign policy in a series of chapters that begins with an examination of Zimbabwe's economic and political legacy which, not surprisingly, reflected the network of support received during the liberation war. This is followed by an analysis of the constraints that faced Zimbabwe upon independence, primarily the need to interact with the world market - a constraint faced by practically all developing countries.

Foreign policy details

Foreign policy, the author claims, is formulated in Zimbabwe as the primarily responsibility of the head of state with the foreign minister providing commentary and the foreign ministry supplying the functionaries. Putting flesh on the bone, the author then sets the sequence that Zimbabwe established diplomatic relations, and a geographical profile of sources of economic assistance.

In the remaining six chapters, specific relationships are covered in greater detail. These are Zimbabwe within the southern African region, specifically South Africa and Mozambique; Zimbabwe and Britain; Zimbabwe and the major powers - then the US, USSR and China; Zimbabwe and Europe - where three case studies are made of relations with France, Romania, and Sweden (the later one of ZANU-PF's few active Western supporters during the liberation struggle); and Zimbabwe's foreign policy position regarding the Middle East which the author chooses to view through the 'prism' of three specific conflicts, Israel/Palestine, Iran/Iraq and Iraq/Kuwait.

The concluding chapter is concerned with Zimbabwe's interaction with the OAU, the UN and the Commonwealth.

Throughout the book the author makes continual reference to the previous works of Ibbu Mandaza and Hasu Pate1. Both were involved as members of ZANU-PF in the struggle for independence and in the author's words 'provide an underlay to the thesis. ...an insider's view, though not uncritical, of Zimbabwe's government policy'.

Footnotes to each chapter also indicate the author's reliance on, and frequent quotations of, press statements and official transcripts provided by Zimbabwe's Ministry of Information. A lengthy bibliography, including newspapers and magazines (African Business is included) is also provided.

Questions left unanswered

For the reader, many of the apparent contradictions of Zimbabwe's foreign policy during this period are hardly resolved. For example, how could a progressive socialist government countenance the close relationships it forged with such unsavoury regimes as Nicolae Ceaucescu's Romania or Kim Il Sung's North Korea? Was this a case of cynical self-interest as both these countries were promising substantial economic assistance?

These sorts of questions are left largely unanswered, yet the author clearly shows that in other regards Zimbabwe was able to, and did, act in a selfless fashion.

By condemning the US so vocally, not simply for its 'positive engagement' with the apartheid South African regime, but also over its invasion of Grenada, its meddling in Nicaragua, its support for Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinian peoples, and in other spheres, Zimbabwe prejudiced its own economic interests when, in response, the US suspended aid programmes.

Equally, it might be argued, Zimbabwe sacrificed its own economic interests in strongly condemning the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan, at a time when it could have reasonably expected economic support from the other major world-power, even if relations with the Soviets were not particularly warm.

Another important question is also left unanswered. That concerns Zimbabwe's relationship with Africa's largest nation, Nigeria. Only two references to Nigeria are made in the book - one, in passing, a quotation from a speech Mugabe made in that country, and another where he pays rather faint praise to the assistance that Nigeria provided during the liberation struggle.

Many Nigerian observers remain perplexed at Mugabe's post-independence stance towards their country. They point out that Nigeria, with its hugely important oil resources, put pressure on Britain to negotiate with the liberation movements at the Lancaster House conference - which paved the way to elections - just as Mozambique counselled Mugabe's ZANU-PF to accept the settlement on offer. Should Britain have had any doubts as to Nigeria's resolve in this regard, they were swiftly disabused by Nigeria's decision to nationalise BP's assets in Nigeria just six weeks prior to the Lancaster House talks opening.

Perhaps what has subsequently coloured Zimbabwe's attitude towards Nigeria is summed up in Mugabe's admission that he was 'not a happy man' as he signed the agreement. "I felt we had been cheated to some extent...that we had agreed to a deal which would to some extent rob us of the victory that we hoped to achieve in the field."

As has been recently demonstrated, the agreement constrained the Zimbabwean government's ability to re-order internal economic relations, specifically the redistribution of land. Is it possible that there a lingering Zimbabwean resentment towards Nigeria for being parry to this perceived 'robbery'?

Of course, this book's scope - ending in the mid-90s - does not address the seismic shift in the global political order: the ending of apartheid in South Africa, the collapse of the Soviet Union or indeed the terrifying descent into political turmoil and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe itself.

But it does provide the background and the thinking of one man who, for better or worse, has guided Zimbabwe for more than two decades.