From Antagonism to Re-engagement

written by Christina Atekmangoh

Zimbabwe’s Trade Negotiations with the European Union, 2000-2016

The book interrogates the European Union (EU) – Zimbabwe Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, covering trade in goods, trade-related rules and development cooperation. The negotiations coincided with EU’s motives as the dominant development partner, and Zimbabwe’s state-stakeholder fault-lines, creating dilemmas in the pursuit of a fair EPA outcome. As a result, the economically weak Zimbabwe signed and ratified an asymmetrical interim EPA (iEPA) with an economically powerful EU in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Meanwhile, direct bilateral re-engagement which eluded the Government of National Unity (GNU), became real following ZANU-PF landslide victory on 31 July 2013, that sufficiently altered the power balance to trigger the process between the former nemesis in support of iEPA domestication, and social and economic development. ZANU-PF government stopped blaming the EU and other western nations for the country’s continued economic under-performance, signaling a softening approach on its part. Similarly, the EU and its member states softened its perception on ZANU-PF leadership leading to resumption and intensification of re-engagement despite failure to implement the Global Political Agreement-related constitutional and democratic reforms, agreed by GNU. This re-engagement was firmly endorsed when the EU and Zimbabwe signed an agreement in July 2015 to normalise bilateral relations and start cooperation.

Christina Atekmangoh

Christina Atekmangoh was born in Tiko in the South West Region of Cameroon. She holds a BSc in Women and Gender Studies with Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Buea in Cameroon, an MSc in Development Studies from Lund University in Sweden, and a PhD in Anthropology and Sociology of Development from The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. She is very active in issues on women's rights and gender and her research interests include Migration and Refugees/IDPs as well as Remittances, Development and Gender, and Moral Economy.