The Sunday Mail
The term “regime change” has become a shibboleth of sorts since the turn of the millennium on the back of the stand-off between Zimbabwe and some Western countries, principally Britain, over the African country’s land reforms. Over coming weeks, The Sunday Mail will publish a series of articles based on author Dr Nyaradzo Mtizira Nondo’s book “The Regime Change Agenda: Focus on Zimbabwe”, which unpacks the subject. Below is the first instalment.
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Dr Nyaradzo Mtizira Nondo
The catchphrase “regime change” has become an all-too-familiar refrain in the corridors of power in Zimbabwe and other developing nations.
Even the erstwhile former superpower, Russia, cries foul at every failed Western opportunity to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Vladimir Putin.
And, well, the Russians might complain, for the same Western nations attempted unsuccessfully to strangle the nascent Bolshevik state in 1917 through an armed invasion (17 000 boots on the ground in American lexicon) witnessed by no less than the illustrious Winston Churchill, the archetypal colonialist of the early 1900s.
Since that spectacular failure to kill off the birth of Communism, the West has gone on a rampage; targeting all and sundry who happen to threaten their political, strategic and economic interests.
In the case of Zimbabwe, the Americans have the cheek to label Zimbabwe “a continuing and persistent threat to American interests”.
This is a shameless statement to make as they renew the yearly sanctions against Zimbabwe in an effort to undermine the two pillars of any unitary state, unity and sovereignty.
But President Mugabe, in his peerless statesmanship, has long seen through the smoke and mirrors of Western foreign policy, which is why his twin mantras of unity and sovereignty irk the West to no end because the West know that this African leader has seen through their chicanery.
The efforts to effect regime change in Zimbabwe follow a well-worn pattern characterised by duplicity and diplomatic sleight-of hand.
This first article examines the historical origins of relations between nation states according to the Westphalian theory that essentially explains the root causes of every international conflict that plays itself out on any field in the world arena.
The term “regime change”, as used in its menacing context in today’s world, first appeared when United States President Ronald Regan used the expression in a speech encouraging the CIA to topple Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the Libyan government.
The expression was popularised by Bill Clinton and Bush in their repeated attacks on Saddam Hussein. To be politically incorrect, it is more appropriate to use the word “overthrow” instead of “regime change”. The latter is defined succinctly as the successful attempt to force a leader or government out of their position of power either by political, economic or military pressure.
Therefore, the three vehicles of the regime change agenda become readily apparent; each of these vehicles will be thoroughly scrutinised in subsequent articles.
The success of any given regime change agenda scenario is measured by its outcome; the replacement of a government hostile to Western interests with a more pliable, obedient government that will mollycoddle Western interests. But this is not always the case.
Often, regime change creates an enabling environment for disruption and chaos in the targeted countries.
Witness the current state of Iraq and the instability in Ivory Coast and Venezuela.
These countries will fall under the microscope of this writer.
Dr Nyaradzo Mtizira Nondo is an author and keen historian, who has also written an informative fictionalised narrative of Zimbabwe’s land reforms titled “The Chimurenga Protocol”
