Civil society and generation of trust in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article discusses the extent to which religious civil society organisations generate trust that can enhance post-violence transition and reconciliation. Locating the discussion within the Zimbabwean context, it argues that civic associations are sites within and from which trust can be generated. Trust is one of the prerequisites for effective post-violence transition1 and reconciliation. The latter are characterized by institutional and attitudinal reforms which reinforce each other in the transitional and reconciliation processes. Institutional reforms restore trust and confidence in the political systems. To implement political reforms, actors require some level of trust between and amongst themselves. In the end, attitudinal reforms become prerequisites for a holistic and sustainable reconciliation process to take place. Attitudinal reforms can only take place when trust between and among the actors is built and subsequently transported to grease structural and institutional reforms.