The chapter argues that voting behaviour and public opinion are deeply influenced by official controls applied by the entrenched ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party. Popular voting behaviour in Zimbabwe is associated with an assortment of political, cultural, and economic views. In regard to the ruling ZANU-PF’s series of electoral triumphs, leading considerations are whether persons trust traditional leaders as a guide to vote choice, the extent to which they think the economy has been administered properly, and whether they fear retribution for not voting for incumbent political elites. However, the chapter further argues, to best appreciate Zimbabwean voting behaviour, scholars must pay significant attention to Zimbabwe’s acute hyper-partisan polarization. Zimbabweans are more divided politically than in any other African country in which party affiliation has been systematically measured. Ruling and opposition parties are divided by mutual distrust, conflicting standpoints on policy debates, and over electoral choice. Polarization is partly a construction by Zimbabwean political elites, but it also has substantial traction amongst ordinary citizens who have accepted partisan loyalty as an important facet in their range of identities.
Who Supports Expanding Surveillance? Exploring Public Opinion of Chinese Social Credit Systems
