Robert Mugabe was the authoritarian leader of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017. His regime was extremely corrupt: he rigged elections, seized property, and even rigged the national lottery to ensure he would win. Acemoglu and Robinson view his rise to power as a classic example of how revolutionaries often adopt the same oppressive tactics as the officials they overthrow (a phenomenon known as the iron law of oligarchy).
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Robert Mugabe Character Timeline in Why Nations Fail
The timeline below shows where the character Robert Mugabe appears in Why Nations Fail. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13: Why Nations Fail Today
...the section “How to Win the Lottery in Zimbabwe,” Acemoglu and Robinson recount how Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe won his country’s national lottery in 2000—while he was still president. This is evidence of...
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...similar to South Africa, until native African revolutionaries overthrew the government in 1980. Their leader, Robert Mugabe , rewrote the constitution to create a one-party regime. He violently suppressed the opposition and...
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