Opinion / Columnist
Soft power will remove Mugabe
27 Nov 2013 at 13:38hrs | Views
Soft power is the new buzzword in political and international relations. Organisations that fail to purposefully invest in the development of soft power invariably wither away and are overtaken by events before eventually collapsing into oblivion.
Hard power has somehow become rather backward, unfashionable and retrogressive. It may be necessary here and there but believe you me, today's world of politics and even business, is being effectively run by the use of soft power.
That said, globally, crucial elections are no longer won through the use of mass rallies and public meetings; but increasingly they are being won through the sustainable use of soft power and it's associated tools.
Dialectical materialism dictates that we have to, inevitably, move with the times or else our space will be overtaken by new creations and in the process, we will become extinct like the Dodo of Mauritius.
Comrades in the democratic movement, now is the time to seriously focus on the development of soft power as opposed to hard power. Elections are NOT going to be won simply because we are popular and also because the majority of the voters support us. This is a very serious game of political power dynamics and believe you me, Zanu PF will NOT lose the ordinary, conventional harmonised elections.
They will, invariably, continue to manipulate, inter alia, the national voters' roll, the State-controlled print and electronic media as well as traditional leaders and other opinion leaders to ensure that they always "win" elections.
Once again comrades, I maintain that if no serious investment is deployed in soft power development,2018 will come and once again, we will " lose " the elections.
Soft power is the way to go. We simply have no other alternative.
Hard power is increasingly becoming an anachronism. It buys you temporary relief but never lasting, enduring and sustainable peace and tranquillity. Even in our marriages and other intimate relationships, we should focus more on showing and giving our spouses/partners more of soft love than hard love. That way, our relationships will last... and last....like a mother's love (...you remember the famous Geisha bath soap commercial..!!)
Soft power is engaging and thus, enduring. It has this kind of lasting effect. Hard power is ordinarily used by brutal and dictatorial regimes who pursue power as an end in itself. Today's world appreciates that although the use of hard power is sometimes justifiable and in some cases, inevitable, it should be the exception and not the norm.
Thus, if we are serious about peacefully, democratically and constitutionally marching on to No.1 Chancellor Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe ,one of these fine days, we have no alternative but to place the main thrust of our focus (and resources),on the development of a smooth and sophisticated soft power political tapestry.
Hard power has somehow become rather backward, unfashionable and retrogressive. It may be necessary here and there but believe you me, today's world of politics and even business, is being effectively run by the use of soft power.
That said, globally, crucial elections are no longer won through the use of mass rallies and public meetings; but increasingly they are being won through the sustainable use of soft power and it's associated tools.
Dialectical materialism dictates that we have to, inevitably, move with the times or else our space will be overtaken by new creations and in the process, we will become extinct like the Dodo of Mauritius.
Comrades in the democratic movement, now is the time to seriously focus on the development of soft power as opposed to hard power. Elections are NOT going to be won simply because we are popular and also because the majority of the voters support us. This is a very serious game of political power dynamics and believe you me, Zanu PF will NOT lose the ordinary, conventional harmonised elections.
They will, invariably, continue to manipulate, inter alia, the national voters' roll, the State-controlled print and electronic media as well as traditional leaders and other opinion leaders to ensure that they always "win" elections.
Soft power is the way to go. We simply have no other alternative.
Hard power is increasingly becoming an anachronism. It buys you temporary relief but never lasting, enduring and sustainable peace and tranquillity. Even in our marriages and other intimate relationships, we should focus more on showing and giving our spouses/partners more of soft love than hard love. That way, our relationships will last... and last....like a mother's love (...you remember the famous Geisha bath soap commercial..!!)
Soft power is engaging and thus, enduring. It has this kind of lasting effect. Hard power is ordinarily used by brutal and dictatorial regimes who pursue power as an end in itself. Today's world appreciates that although the use of hard power is sometimes justifiable and in some cases, inevitable, it should be the exception and not the norm.
Thus, if we are serious about peacefully, democratically and constitutionally marching on to No.1 Chancellor Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe ,one of these fine days, we have no alternative but to place the main thrust of our focus (and resources),on the development of a smooth and sophisticated soft power political tapestry.
Source - Obert Gutu facebook
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