Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo and Songs of Protest in Colonial and Post-Independence Zimbabwe

This bibliography covers scholarship on selected protest songs of the musician Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo (b. 1945) that were written in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe. In keeping with the Marxist cultural theoretical orientation that is evident in research on this subject, the organization of these entries traces the sociopolitical engagement of Mapfumo’s songs that reflect praise and dissent during the Second and Third Chimurenga wars of political liberation, respectively. Discourse on Zimbabwe’s economic challenges has positive and negative interpretations. Mamdani 2005 and Bond and Manyanya 2002 (both cited under General Overview) state that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) inherited an economy that had already suffered due to pre-independence policies. Dossa 2007 (under General Overview) argues that development is meant to perpetuate Western dominance. Manjengwa 2007 (under General Overview) blames the ruling party’s top-down approach in implementing development programs. The first section of the bibliography analyzes the songs “Pfumvu paruzevha,” “Kuyaura,” “Chiruzevha chapera,” and “Tumira vana kuhondo,” which Mukanya composed to express the experiences of Zimbabweans during colonialism. Zimbabweans’ way of life was disrupted and Mukanya mirrored this cultural upset through protest songs. The songs resonated well with the ideology of the ZANU-PF. Soon after independence, Mapfumo sang celebration songs (“Zimbabwe” and “Rakarira jongwe”). The second section examines protest songs penned after independence (“Varombo kuvarombo,” “Ndiani waparadza musha,” “Musatambe nenyika,” “Disaster,” “Corruption,” “Mamvemve,” “Maiti kurima hamubvire,” “Chauya chauya,” and “Ndangariro”). The scenario deteriorated due to alleged misgovernance by the ruling ZANU-PF elite, a situation that attracted Mukanya’s criticism. The bibliography traces how the transition of ZANU-PF from heroes to villains is portrayed through Mukanya’s music. During the armed struggle, Mapfumo sided with the liberation war movement. This changed after independence, and Mapfumo allegorically poses questions pointing at the empty promises ZANU-PF leaders made to uplift Zimbabweans’ standard of living. Mukanya sang about the contested land redistribution in Zimbabwe. Consequently, Mapfumo was stalked by state repressive agents until he fled to live in exile in the United States in 2000. He yearned for Ubuntu philosophy, nationalism, and unity. People may differ ideologically, but they ought to accept one another as a nation. This fosters positive peace, which Zimbabweans have yearned for over four decades. Mapfumo wants people to be economically empowered. He has been incarcerated before and he is fearless. Chimurenga music is a voice for the downtrodden masses. Mukanya’s songs that have explicit political messages were banned from airplay by the government. Mapfumo has remained united with the people he is fighting for despite living in exile. Mapfumo uses music to complain about the people’s suffering. He bears memories about Zimbabwe that remain engrained in Chimurenga music in the backdrop of ZANU-PF hegemony. He has called for free and fair elections because Zimbabweans have a right to choose leaders, but election results have been contested since 2000.

Determinants of the Citizen Engagement Level of Mayors on Twitter

Today, politicians like other political actors use social media to interact with their audiences. In the relevant literature, studies on the use of social media by politicians focus more on how politicians use social media for political communication during the election periods and its impact on the election results. Furthermore, these studies mainly focus on national politicians. Few studies focus on the use of social media during a non-election period by the local politicians, and these studies analyse the purpose of using social media. Therefore, in the relevant literature, there is a need for empirical studies to measure the citizen engagement level of local politicians during the non-election period and analyse its determinants beyond the purpose of using social media. In this context, this study aims to analyse the relationship between some factors and the level of citizen engagement of the mayors on Twitter in Turkey. The findings of the analysis show that there is a relationship between the status of municipalities and the engagement level of mayors.

No tyranny for failing Donald Trump – sad! Law, constitutionalism and tyranny in the twenty-first century

Donald Trump’s presidency resulted in several accusations of tyrannical intent. The end of his term of office, and particularly the rioting of 6 January 2021 and the denial of the presidential election results, did little to dispel those accusations. Tyranny, while perhaps not fashionable as a basis of analysis, has a long-intertwined relationship with law and constitutionalism. This article uses Donald Trump’s presidency to consider the relationships between tyranny, tyrannicide, law and constitutionalism. The article considers law and constitutionalism’s role in both preventing and advancing the advent of tyranny and examines their limitations in stopping tyrannical intent. Public contestation is put forward as an equally significant bulwark against the advent of tyranny, but also a space under tremendous pressure during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Keterwakilan Perempuan pada Pemilihan Anggota Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Kabupaten Tulang Bawang Barat pada Pemilihan Umum (Pemilu) 2019

The breakthrough to achieve justice in the political field is the implementation of an affirmative action system, which is a system used globally to enable women to play their role, especially in the world of politics. The purpose of this research is to find out, analyze and explain what factors influence women's representation in the West Tulang Bawang Regency DPRD election results in 2019 and to find out, analyze and explain strategies for increasing women's representation in PDIP, Nasdem Party and Gerindra Party. As for those who became respondents in this study amounted to 7 people. The results of this research are 1) The factors that influence women's representation in the Legislative Election DPRD Tulang Bawang Barat Regency are 3 (three), namely political education, political communication and political culture and the most dominant factor influencing is "patriarchal culture" with the conclusion explanation as follows: The following: 1) Political education: political education efforts for legislative candidates, especially women, are not effectively implemented, this is due to time constraints and the reluctance of women legislative candidates to access and deepen knowledge about the world of politics, b) Political communication: political communication efforts the majority of legislative candidates only rely on the media mix and are less effective in direct political communication or interpersonal communication such as open campaigns or door to door. c) Political culture: patriarchal culture is still cultured, namely a culture that places women in a position that is always under men, is considered to have duties and responsibilities in domestic management of the household, namely kitchens, wells and mattresses. And 2) The strategy to increase women's representation in PDIP, Nasdem Party and Gerindra Party is carried out in 3 (three) ways, namely a) Increasing political education, b) Increasing political marketing and c) Increasing women's political participation.

The Catalan Syndrome? Revisiting the Relationship Between Income and Support for Independence in Catalonia

The surge in support for independence in Catalonia (Spain) has received much political, journalistic, as well as academic attention. A popular account of the Catalan case stresses the allegation that motives relating to fiscal selfishness are behind the independence movement. The evidence presented in support of this argument is the positive correlation between income and support for independence. Some scholars, such as Thomas Piketty, even talk about a “Catalan syndrome,” according to which support for independence can ultimately be explained by fiscal selfishness and the prospect of creating a sort of tax haven in Catalonia. As prominent as this argument is, in this article I show that it rests on weak theoretical and empirical grounds. In order to do so, I reassess the existing evidence, using a more nuanced empirical strategy that allows for non-linear relations to emerge and controls for potential confounders. Then, I also present new evidence based on recently published census-tract level fiscal data, merged with election results. Finally, I spell out the mechanisms and observable implications of the “Catalan syndrome” argument and show that fiscal selfishness is not an important driver of the Catalan independence movement.