The Tension between Non-Intervention and Non-Indifference in the SADC Mediation in Zimbabwe, 2007-2013 : An Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is an analysis of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) management of the non-intervention and non-indifference dichotomy during its mediation in Zimbabwe. Non-intervention and non-indifference are inherently mutually exclusive hence the idea of tension between them. The institutional configuration of SADC, at the ideational level, is such that it encompasses commitment to sovereign equality and non-intervention and also to intervention in the interest of advancing regional stability, peace and security. Clearly, an uncertainty arises pertaining to the (supposed) relationship of these competing commitments; which concept or idea assumes precedence in an event of regional conflict or crisis that threatens regional stability? Additionally, the AU norm of non-indifference, which emerged in the aftermath of the deadly internecine conflict that engulfed Rwanda in 1994, has been embraced by SADC. SADC opted for mediation in Zimbabwe which paradoxically allowed it to manage and mitigate the tension between non-intervention and non-indifference. The mediation process produced the GPA in 2008 that subsequently led to the establishment of the power sharing government, the GNU, in 2009. As the guarantor of the GPA, SADC was involved in facilitating the implementation of the agreement. During this stage of its mediation intervention in Zimbabwe, clashes centred on non-intervention and non-indifference frequently occurred. In particular, President Mugabe was often at loggerheads with SADC over its involvement in Zimbabwe, occasionally accusing the organisation of undermining the country’s sovereignty. Despite Mugabe occasionally undermining the GPA, as was seen with his tendency to unilaterally appoint allies in strategic positions within the state for example, SADC did not change its stance on the question of the method of intervention in Zimbabwe. The use of mediation which is a peaceable method of intervention allowed SADC to manage the tension that naturally exists between non-intervention and non-indifference during its conflict resolution role in Zimbabwe.