ABSTRACT
Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until his overthrow in 2017 at the age of 93. He demonstrated that a Leninist party system, vicious use of the instruments of repression, and genuine support based on anti-colonialism and opposition to the legacies of White rule could maintain authoritarian power well into the twenty-first century. Western governments were complicit in his vengeance against the Ndebele people in the 1980s, for their eyes were focused on an end to apartheid in South Africa. Mugabe rode out inflation and economic collapse with the aid of China and other long-standing international friendships. There are four factors of special significance that enabled Mugabe to rule for such a long time: the role of liberation movements; the ability to amass power while retaining a façade of democracy; the potency of regional and international alliances; and his relationship with the instruments of force, especially the military. His authoritarian system and human rights abuse, however, have survived his bloodless overthrow by his former colleague Emmerson Mnangagwa.
