Political Inclusion in Local Governance Processes in Zimbabwe: A Contextual Analysis

Abstract

Current political inclusion studies focus on creating inclusive policies and platforms that aim to support the political inclusion of marginalised people. Although it is known that the socio political urban governance landscape can impact on real-life experiences of people living in contexts where civic space is politicised, this can be overlooked when exploring and implementing political inclusion policies. This paper addresses an important gap in the literature by exploring the contextual drivers of political inclusion, and exclusion, of citizens in local governance processes and platforms in Zimbabwe. The paper combined informal conversations with a review and analysis of secondary and primary data sources on political inclusion. The data elicited were analysed to construct key themes. The findings were interpreted through a lens of political inclusion and demonstrated how the socio-political local governance environment both enabled and inhibited political inclusion. Based on these findings, the paper offers recommendations for practitioners, researchers and policy makers wishing to promote political inclusion in local governance.