Peacebuilding in Zimbabwe by Civil Society Organisations: New Approaches and Challenges

Abstract

The study explores strategies such as grassroots and indigenous initiatives employed by civil society organisations (CSOs) in promoting peacebuilding owing to perceived and real risks of conflict, which threatens national security in Zimbabwe and also assesses the impact of informal peace infrastructure, analyses operational challenges and assesses the state-civil society engagements towards peacebuilding. A systematic review of 50 documents was conducted following the seven-step model of reviewing literature, and a qualitative thematic analysis of selected studies on diverse Zimbabwean contexts was conducted. Findings reveal that CSOs employ diverse innovative strategies, which include social entrepreneurship, restorative justice and indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) integration that enhance local ownership and conflict transformation. In addition, informal peace committees emerged as powerful and flexible, inclusive platforms fostering community empowerment despite limited formal recognition and resource constraints. However, there are persistent challenges, which include political interference, funding shortages, and mistrust between state and civil society actors, which hinder collaboration and scalability. While grassroots initiatives demonstrate positive impacts on social cohesion and reconciliation, formal transitional justice mechanisms often underperform due to political and institutional limitations. Hence, these findings underscore the critical role of indigenous and informal models within inclusive peacebuilding frameworks but highlight the need for strengthened institutional support and sustainable partnerships. Therefore, this study informs policymakers and practitioners by emphasising scalable, integrative approaches that leverage the local agency to advance sustainable peacebuilding in Zimbabwe and other comparable contexts