Local urban development stakeholders in a globalizing context: Civil society, urban governance and urban poverty in Harare, Zimbabwe

This study examines the impacts of globalization on domestic policy and the concomitant effects on local development processes in Harare, Zimbabwe. It assesses the various processes and strategies of engaging disparate development stakeholders in urban governance and evaluates the experiences and capacities of civil society in urban development.; Macroeconomic instability and other external forces such as globalization constraints, the legacy of colonialism, and post independent structural adjustment programs, on one hand; rapid urban population growth, along with institutional, financial, and administrative incapacities and outdated legal and governance traditions at the urban and national levels, on the other, have resulted in failure of government to provide social services or even to maintain basic infrastructure. Consequently, civil society is increasingly being viewed as a mechanism for satisfying the needs of the urban poor, and is even viewed by some as a universal remedy for development challenges in developing countries like Zimbabwe. This study, therefore, critically examines these organizations within the Zimbabwean context to assess their effectiveness.; The main finding of this study is that, in Zimbabwe, the only civil society activities permitted are those that do not threaten to challenge the status quo. While the efficacy of organizations and groups that advocate for change is questionable in the face of a powerful, and in some cases hostile, state that restricts and sometimes prevents them from working, the role of welfare and developmental NGOs remains paramount. Civil society does not exist in a vacuum; it is dependent on the political context comprising the state, political institutions, and political culture that surround it. Contrary to the belief that globalization renders the state obsolete, the Zimbabwean government still plays a central role in development issues. The effectiveness of civil society depends on the nature of its internal organization and operations, as well as its relationships with the state and other urban development stakeholders. This study concludes that since their roles are complementary and mutually reinforcing, civil society and the state need each other, and they must work together in order to achieve human sustainable development of all sectors of society.