Zimbabwe’s Democratization Process

Topic: Political Ideologies
Words: 313 Pages: 1

Democratic frameworks have long been recognized as the optimal and most efficient method of state-building. As such, states that aspire to thrive and succeed are expected to pursue such a paradigm. However, in spite of its widespread across the globe, democracy is a complex framework that comprises many aspects. First of all, the regime type is a vital component of state-building. Historically, traditional monarchies and authoritarian states have been considered the opposite of democracy. In this regard, citizens of the country should exercise actual control over the election and supervision of the decision-makers.

In turn, the latter is to work in light of the expectations of the former. Second, the core of democracy equally includes the freedom of economic and civil relations. For example, product prices and currency exchange rates are to be determined by the natural market processes, as well as the general rules of economics (supply-demand). Non-democratic states usually see an increased degree of governmental involvement in such affairs. In fact, when government interferes and attempts to control every aspect of the state’s functioning, a democratic transition becomes less likely.

Overall, freedom is the primary component of a successful democratic transition. Such countries as Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe have inherently different historical contexts. Among them, Zimbabwe currently seems as the best candidate for soon democratic evolution. Indeed, the country ranks low on the corruption perception index with a score of 24 (Transparency International).

Furthermore, its human development index is equal to 0.571, which places it in 150th place worldwide (Human Development Reports). Nevertheless, the country saw steady growth in these terms across the past years. Most importantly, it has a higher freedom index on this list with 28/100 (Freedom House). This number is promising, as growing citizen freedom will be the primary driver of democratization. In turn, this transition will improve the situation of human development and corruption perception.

Works Cited

Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International, 2020. Web.

Global Freedom Status. Freedom House, 2021. Web.

Human Development Reports. United Nations Development Programme, 2020. Web.