EUROPEAN UNION (EU) SANCTIONS ON ZIMBABWE (2002-2013): TESTING HYPOTHESES OF INFLUENCE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

The focus of this article was to test the hypotheses (factors) of influence that enabled the EU and its partners to exert influence in Zimbabwe between 2002 and 2013. Four hypotheses volume of actions, severity of actions, commitment and the timing of actions have been tested. The article has also tested four hypotheses of non-influence (detracting factors) prestige, desirability of violations, internal power struggles and aid-dependence exhibited by the Mugabe regime during this period. The article concludes that it was due to the overwhelming weight of the foreign policy actions over the internal situation of Zimbabwe that finally pushed Mugabe to bowed down. The great lesson learned from the Zimbabwe experience is that the influencing state must evaluate the detracting factors in the target state well in order to select and maximise on the best influencing actions.