"Darling of the West" to "Rogue Nation": An analysis of Zimbabwe-Britain post-colonial relations before and after the implementation of the FTLRP between 1980 and 2003

When governments create goals, institutions are formed to back these goals which are then implemented through policies. In Zimbabwe, the Land Reform Programme was an institution created as an engine of post-colonial emancipation and development. It was agreed upon by two governments being the Zimbabwean government and the British government. This research investigates the dynamics of the relations between the two governments throughout the implementation of the land policy while focusing on the factors that contributed to the failure of the institution. In chapter one, the background of the Zimbabwe-Britain relations is given as well as the method of investigation which is Within Case Process Tracing. The second chapter provides comprehensive arguments between the research question and the scholarly perspectives on the factors which contribute to the failure of institutions. These factors are personal interest, the path dependence theory and the hypothesis on the behaviour of post-colonial institutions. Thereafter, a chronological historical account of the programme is provided then finally, the theories are tested against the evidence collected through process tracing to establish which factors led to the failure of the Land Reform Program as an institution.