State Turns News Today

Conflict transformation regards clashes as motors of change that keep social structures dynamically responsive to social needs

It is simplistic to label their decision to opt out of voting as apathy - almost all young people, including those who do not vote, have a political opinion and concerns about the state of our nation, writes Malaika Mahlatsi.

A few years ago, I read a book titled When a State Turns on its Citizens by Prof Lloyd Sachikonye. The book traces decades of institutionalised violence in Zimbabwe. The central theme of the book is that the violence that characterises contemporary Zimbabwean society was born in the struggle for liberation – both by the colonial regime of Ian Smith and within the camps of national liberation movements.

I found myself thinking about Sachikonye’s book over the weekend when I read two stories online about students who pulled out guns on school premises.

An ISIS supporter has created the first known case of using NFTs to directly raise money for their sinister crimes.

Perpetrators of crimes, whether they are common criminals or powerful people, thrive where there are no repercussions.

What’s new? As Zimbabwe’s political and economic crises worsen, South Africa is moving beyond its policy of “quiet diplomacy” with its northern neighbour and applying more pressure on Harare to open up political space and reform its economy. Why does it matter? With Zimbabwe’s people slipping further into destitution, crackdowns fostering a growing sense of grievance within the opposition, and political divisions pitting ruling-party members against one another, the country could...