NGOs and State in Zimbabwe: implications for civil society theory

Abstract

This chapter is based on research on Zimbabwean NGOs in the early-mid 1990s. It examines two NGO coalitions that attempted to mobilize Zimbabwean NGOs in advocacy activities. It criticizes conceptions of NGO-state relations which emphasize state-society conflict, arguing that they are often excessively bi-polar, ahistorical, and not empirically grounded. The chapter proposes that state-society relations must be understood not only in terms of the state's use of coercion, but also its construction of consent.