8. Peace, Culture and Indigenous Conflict Resolution in Zimbabwe & South Africa

Postcolonial African societies exist in paradoxes. Despite having indigenous peace and conflict resolution mechanisms, international peace professionals often assume that Africans lack the self-awareness to articulate and implement them effectively. This has resulted in a Western-dominated peacebuilding industry where African traditions are studied, interpreted and systematised through external frameworks rather than being recognised as legitimate and independent knowledge systems. This chapter critically examines how the study of African peace and conflict resolution, particularly in Southern Africa, has prioritised external validation over local agency. The development and peacebuilding discourse, often presented as supporting African stability, has instead functioned as a mechanism of control—surveilling, shaping and dictating Africa’s peace agenda. The expansion of the peace industrial complex has paradoxically coincided with the persistence of conflict, exclusion and poverty, reinforcing neo-colonial dependencies that justify the continued presence of international aid agencies. Rather than addressing the root causes of instability, global peacebuilding efforts have been diversionary, focusing on frameworks that sustain Western economic and political interests. At the same time, African political and civil society elites have embraced externally driven peacebuilding strategies, further entrenching Western dominance in Africa’s governance and security landscape. This chapter advocates for the decolonisation of peacebuilding practices, urging a shift towards African-centered solutions that empower local actors. Sustainable peace in Africa requires dismantling externally imposed narratives and recognising African agency, indigenous knowledge and self-determined approaches in conflict resolution and governance.