Zimbabwe’s descent into crisis accelerated sharply around 2000, when state-backed invasions of white-owned commercial farms, coupled with violent intimidation of opposition supporters, plunged the country into turmoil ahead of contested parliamentary elections. The disruption to commercial agriculture, long a pillar of the economy, helped trigger a prolonged economic collapse marked by runaway inflation and chronic shortages.
President Robert Mugabe, who had led the country since independence in 1980, clung to power through repeated disputed elections and a shrinking tolerance for dissent, even as living standards deteriorated and millions of Zimbabweans emigrated in search of work. His nearly four-decade rule finally ended in 2017, when the military intervened and forced his resignation, installing Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place.
Despite hopes that the transition might open a new chapter, Zimbabwe has continued to struggle with economic instability, currency crises, and accusations that the political system remains dominated by the same ruling party and security establishment that defined the Mugabe era.