It is quite clear that the misery of Zimbabweans has not provided much impetus to push the negotiations forward in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe has not much cared about the suffering of his citizenry over the course of the last decade and more. There is no reason to believe he would start now. And let there be no question about it — Mugabe's obstinacy is the key impediment at work in thwarting successful negotiations, negotiations he never expected to have to endure and that he certainly never desired.
So is it possible that outside pressure, which has been intermittent at best, will come to bear in Zimbabwe? With Thabo Mbeki's brokering of discussions there was at least the pretense of progress. Is it possible that various forms of pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), or from individual SADC members, such as Botswana, which has called for new elections in Zimbabwe, or a newly configured South African negotiation team, might prove effective? Signs are that South Africa is growing frustrated with the glacial pace of talks. And Jacob Zuma is less indulgent of Mugabe than was Thabo Mbeki to begin with.
Pressure is almost certainly going to have to come from without to get the talks going again. because there is almost no sense within Zimbabwe that Mugabe has any interest whatsoever in yielding power beyond te miniscule steps he has already taken.
