S-CAR Dissertation Defense: Tompson Makahamadze- How do Legacies of Violence Affect Regimes?

How do Legacies of Violence Affect Regime Stability? Nonviolent Protests and Regime Outcomes in Tunisia and Zimbabwe
Tuesday, March 27, 2018, 9am - 12pm
Vernon Smith Hall 5183 - SCAR Conference Room
Arlington Campus, George Mason University
Committee members:
Dr. Terrence Lyons (Chair)
Dr. Tehama M Lopez Bunysai
Dr. Lester Kurtz
Abstract:
Authoritarian regimes that emerged from violent conflicts such as civil wars, wars of independence, genocides, and coups, appear to be more successful at repressing nonviolent protests than authoritarian regimes without experience in violent conflict. How do legacies of violence enhance regime durability? Using Levitsky and Way (2013)’s theory relating to the durability of revolutionary regimes, this study examines how legacies of violence enable authoritarian regimes to repress nonviolent protests and lack thereof facilitates the collapse of regimes that have no violent origins. The dissertation uses the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique (RCD) of Tunisia and the Zimbabwe African National Union patriotic front (ZANU PF) as case studies. While the former had no experience of violent conflict, the latter emerged from a brutal liberation struggle in which several thousands perished. The RCD regime collapsed in 2011 in the wake of massive nonviolent protests, but ZANU PF regime succeeded in repressing nonviolent protests for more than three decades. However, the study acknowledges the limitations of legacies of violence. As the generation of revolutionary cadres elapses and factionalism emerges, the regime’s cohesion would be threatened, thereby creating propitious conditions for nonviolent protests to succeed. The dissertation also examines the regimes of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda as secondary cases. Data for this research was collected through content analysis of archival records, news reports and audio-visual materials from credible sources, and autoethnography.
scar.gmu.edu

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nice presentation. i have to admit that coming up with such a topic is great iam struggling to find my dissertation topic for my undergraduate degree.