Summary
A Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician, Robert Mugabe served as the country's Prime Minister and later as its President for 37 years. His legacy remains a contentious topic, marked by controversy, violence, and suspected military coups during his later years in power, despite his role in leading Zimbabwe to independence from British colonial rule. So who was Robert Mugabe, and how did he hold onto power for so long?
In this episode, James welcomes Dr. Sue Onslow from Kings University to delve into Mugabe's controversial life and legacy. Exploring his early political years, his relationship with the British, and his eventual downfall - was Mugabe a ruthless dictator, or was he a revolutionary hero?
You can buy Sue's book here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Robert Mugabe, a name that sharply divides opinion around the world. |
| 0:05.0 | On the one hand he was a symbol of African liberation, a hero respected and revered by many who helped free his country from colonial rule. |
| 0:14.0 | But on the other he was a brutal dictator, responsible for repeated cycles of gross human rights violations |
| 0:21.0 | and extreme violence and oppression. |
| 0:24.0 | So who was the real Mugabe? |
| 0:26.0 | I'm your host James Patton Rogers. |
| 0:27.5 | This is Warfare. |
| 0:28.6 | And to find out, I've invited Sue Onslow |
| 0:30.6 | onto the podcast. |
| 0:31.8 | Sue is a professor at Kings College London and the author of a biography about Mugabe simply named Robert Mugabe. It's thanks to Sue's expertise that we get to explore Mugabe's rise to power, his surprising partnership with China and |
| 0:45.0 | North Korea, and the long history of brutal crackdowns that ultimately help lead to the coup that |
| 0:50.6 | ended his 37-year rule. So here is Sue Onslow as part of our special |
| 0:56.2 | dictator's month here on warfare taking a deep dive into the rise and fall of |
| 1:01.6 | Robert Mugabe. |
| 1:03.0 | Enjoy. |
| 1:04.0 | Hi, Sue, |
| 1:07.0 | Hi, Sue, |
| 1:12.0 | welcome to warfare. How how you doing today I'm doing well thank you good |
| 1:16.4 | thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast well Robert Mugabe |
| 1:21.3 | is who we're talking about today as part of our special months-long mini-series on dictators. |
| 1:27.6 | Now Mugabe, the first Prime Minister and later President of an independent Zimbabwe who traded the mantle of a great liberator |
| 1:36.7 | for the armor of a tyrant and arguably presided over the decline of one of Africa's most prosperous lands in |
... |
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