New book on Zimbabwe coup highlights gender factor

A new book by Professor Blessing-Miles Tendi, a leading academic in Politics at the University of Oxford, sheds light on a crucial but often overlooked aspect of Zimbabwe's 2017 military coup - the role of gender in shaping the political upheaval that ousted the late former President Robert Mugabe and installed President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Tendi's book, The Overthrow of Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coups, and Diplomats, argues that understanding military coups - particularly the one in Zimbabwe - requires more than just looking at power struggles or political maneuvering. It calls for an examination of the gender dynamics that underpin the causes, justifications, and responses to military takeovers, suggesting that women's politics and gender relations played an integral role in the events of the 2017 coup.

The book contends that gender is an often-ignored but essential factor in military coups and their international reception. Tendi highlights that, contrary to popular interpretations of Zimbabwe's 2017 coup as distinct from others in Africa's history, there are important continuities in coup characteristics, particularly when viewed through the lens of gender. He argues that military interventions in politics, both in Zimbabwe and across Africa, are shaped by deep-rooted gendered histories, which influence the actions of both male and female political players during such events.

Tendi also critically addresses the international community's response to the coup. While there is a well-established global norm against military coups, especially in the wake of democracy promotion efforts by Western states, Zimbabwe's coup-makers largely faced little international condemnation or punishment. Using original interviews with diplomats and politicians involved in the international response to the coup, Tendi delves into why the coup was largely accepted by Western and African diplomats, despite the supposed anti-coup stance in global politics.

In his highly original work, Tendi brings to the forefront new insights about the motivations, triggers, and dynamics of the 2017 coup, shedding light on the previously unexplored influence of gender in these processes.

Blessing-Miles Tendi is a Professor of Politics in the University of Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) and the African Studies Centre (ASC). His academic work focuses on civil-military relations, intelligence, gender and politics, biography, and the political use of 'evil'. With a background in studying African political systems and their complex interactions with international relations, Tendi brings a fresh perspective to understanding political events on the continent.

Tendi's new book promises to challenge existing narratives around Zimbabwe's 2017 coup and offers a unique academic perspective that expands our understanding of the intersection between gender, politics, and military power in Africa.