This paper accounts for Southern African Development Community (SADC) decision-making on Zimbabwe’s land issue from the year 2000 onwards. Guided by the principal-agent model, this paper argues that ...the delegation and control dynamics emerging from SADC’s principal-agent institutional structure and relationships shaped the regional organisation’s (RO’s) decisions on Zimbabwe’s land issue. This study adopted a qualitative methodology to explore this proposition utilising both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data were collected through semi-structured key informant interviews and official documents such as SADC communiqués, while secondary data were gathered from published books, journal articles, newspaper articles and other related materials. Thematic analysis was the method used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the member states (principal) limited the delegation of decision-making uthority to the SADC (agent) and the principal’s firm control of the agent were key factors shaping SADC outcomes on Zimbabwe’s land issue. These principal-agent dynamics enabled member states to control SADC’s decisions on Zimbabwe’s land issue. Conversely, there was also opportunistic agent behaviour that resulted in decisions that injured the principal’s interests. Such decisions included the Tribunal’s fateful ruling on Zimbabwe’s land reform programme. Overall, this paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by re-contextualising the principal-agent model in a new setting, which is SADC decision-making on Zimbabwe’s land issue.
The paper argues for the need to look beyond norms in accounting for the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) noncommittal approach to crisis management in Zimbabwe from the year 2000 ...onwards. To justify this need, the paper highlights some notable limitations in the dominant normative explanations for SADC's noncommittal approach to Zimbabwe. The paper posits that norms do not account for SADC's inconsistent approach to crisis management despite their popularity. Norms, therefore, provide a partial and incomplete explanation for SADC's noncommittal approach to Zimbabwe. The paper concludes that the key factors shaping SADC's noncommittal approach to Zimbabwe go beyond just norms to include regional power dynamics in SADC. Therefore, this paper recommends extending the debate on SADC's approach to Zimbabwe beyond the currently dominant issue of norms.
The paper argues for the need to look beyond norms in accounting for the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) noncommittal approach to crisis management in Zimbabwe as from the year 2000 ...onwards. To justify this need, the paper highlights some notable limitations in the dominant normative explanations for SADC’s noncommittal approach to Zimbabwe. The paper posits that despite their popularity, norms do not account for SADC’s inconsistent approach to crisis management. Norms therefore, provide a partial and incomplete explanation for SADC’s noncommittal approach to Zimbabwe. The paper concludes that the key factors shaping SADC’s noncommittal approach to Zimbabwe go beyond just norms to include regional power dynamics in SADC. Therefore, this paper recommends extending debate on SADC’s approach to Zimbabwe beyond the currently dominant issue of norms.
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