ABSTRACT Most scholars agree that the character of the urban governance system in Zimbabwe is a reflection of the dominance of one political party, namely, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). However, the increasingly prominent role of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in urban governance has heralded, since the early 2000s, a period marked by change, contestation and confusion. Simultaneously, the destabilising effect of contested urban governance politics on urban management in Zimbabwe has become entrenched. This article focuses on the interface between urban governance politics and urban management in Zimbabwe in the post-2000 era. It analyses how central government, through the local government ministry, local government statutes and appointed officials, structures, and even destabilises, the administration of urban affairs. The article concludes that urban governance is not merely a site of political contestation, as it has also profoundly influenced and altered the functioning of urban administration in Zimbabwe.

中文翻译：

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津巴布韦的中央与地方国家竞争与城市管理

摘要 大多数学者都认为，津巴布韦城市治理体系的特征反映了一个政党的主导地位，即津巴布韦非洲民族联盟-爱国阵线（ZANU-PF）。然而，自 2000 年代初以来，民主变革运动 (MDC) 在城市治理中日益突出的作用预示着一个以变革、争论和混乱为标志的时期。与此同时，有争议的城市治理政治对津巴布韦城市管理的不稳定影响已经根深蒂固。本文重点研究2000年后津巴布韦城市治理政治与城市管理的衔接。它分析了中央政府如何通过地方政府部门、地方政府法规和任命的官员、结构，甚至破坏稳定，城市事务的管理。文章的结论是，城市治理不仅仅是一个政治争论的场所，它还深刻地影响和改变了津巴布韦城市管理的运作。