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Versions of violence: Zimbabwe's domestic violence law and symbolic politics of protection

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  • Lene Bull Christiansen

Abstract

This article argues that political uses of violence and discursive representations of violence are part of a political discourse of legitimacy in Zimbabwean politics, and that this discourse relies on a gendered power matrix in which acts of violence are depicted either as legitimate protection or as illegitimate aggression or terror. The analysis is based on public debates about domestic violence legislation and media representations of political uses of violence in 2006 and 2007. However, this is viewed as part of a longer history of political violence, entailing a symbolic politics of protection and political legitimacy, in which the protection of the nation's women figures as metonymy for ‘the people’ in need of protection.

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  • Lene Bull Christiansen, 2010. "Versions of violence: Zimbabwe's domestic violence law and symbolic politics of protection," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(126), pages 421-435, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:37:y:2010:i:126:p:421-435
    DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2010.530941
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    Cited by:

    1. Jonah Marawako, 2022. "Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(5), pages 84-93, May.

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