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Challenges depictions of law as a façade for political repression by examining political trials in Zimbabwe after 2000.
List of contents
Introduction: Law, state authority and the courts, 1. History, authority and the law in Zimbabwe, 1950-2002; 2. 'Rebels' and 'good boys': examining the working conditions in Zimbabwe's attorney general's office after 2000; 3. 'Zimbabweans are foolishly litigious': debating citizenship when engaging with a politicised legal system; 4. 'What is abnormal is normal': performative politics on the stages of arrest and detention; 5. Material and sensory courtrooms: observing the 'decline of professionalism' in Harare's magistrates'' courts; 6. The trials of the 'traitor in Harare's magistrates' courts under the unity government; 7. History, consciousness and citizenship in Matabeleland: the impact of the MLF case; 8. Historical narrative and political strategy in Bulawayo's magistrates' courts: the case of Owen Maseko; Conclusion: 'Government is a legal fiction' - performing law, the state, citizenship and politics.
About the author
Susanne Verheul is a Research Fellow in International Development at the University of Oxford where her research focuses on questions of law and politics in Southern Africa. She previously taught at University College Roosevelt, Utrecht University and holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford.
Summary
Building on socio-legal studies, anthropology, and performance studies, this book challenges depictions of law as a façade for political repression by examining political trials in Zimbabwe after 2000, looking beyond the repression/resistance binary as a way of understanding governments' and citizens' uses of law.
Additional text
'A fascinating and vividly painted picture of the way in which power gets enacted in Zimbabwe's courtrooms and a must-read for socio-legal scholars and Africanists alike. Verheul manages to combine disciplinary perspectives and rich case material to dig deep into how power gets constituted and is performed. Highly recommended!' Barbara Oomen, Utrecht University
