The liberation culture and missed opportunities for security sector reform in Zimbabwe: 1980–2018

ABSTRACT This article analyses the roles of key liberation war actors in shaping the new security regime in Zimbabwe. This is done through analysing the trajectory of the security sector reforms (SSR) and the missed opportunities for transformation since 1980. The post 1980 security establishment was dominated by the logistical posturing of the liberation war security structures. This allowed for the infusion of the exile formed liberation culture values that evolved during war-time governance practices. SSR in the country remained deliberately skewed towards technical capacity building, without attempts to align the security provision with the universal human rights doctrine. The findings show that the partisan oriented SSR approach has contributed to the elusive human security paradigm in the country.