A decisive week has gripped the southern African nation, the winds of change gusted swiftly and comprehensively across the land Ian Smith dubbed a jewel when he bequeathed the nation to Robert Mugabe. That jewel has dulled to the point it has become a dusty pebble, a dust coating numerous relics of farmland once held by white farmers, a lustre that dimmed when the Zimbabwe Dollar bloated to over 11 million% inflation. However it was Mugabe’s decision to appoint his wife Grace as his successor, combined with the dismissal of his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, became the straw that broke the camel’s back.

A week ago, tanks were spotted in the capital, Harare. The military moved fast and overrun Mugabe in his presidential palace, placing the 93-year-old dictator under house arrest. Once Mugabe was confined to his mansion, dubbed “Blue-Roof,” the President’s party, ZANU-PF, made moves to remove him from office, which Mugabe resisted, until he declared his resignation on 21st November [2017]. The former President tendered his resignation by way of letter at the precise time his peers were moving to impeach him, sparking mass celebrations across the country. Yesterday [22nd November], Mugabe’s former second-in-command — disgraced with expulsion a-week-and-a-half ago — was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new President. He has vowed to restore jobs for the citizens in a “new democracy.” As for Grace Mugabe, she has remained missing since the coup, some believe she may have fled to Zambia, although a deal was reached with former President Mugabe to make sure he and Grace can live in peace now deposed.

It is a rarity for coups to occur — especially in Africa in recent years — in a non-violent manner, considering the army was also involved and acted unilaterally to unseat their President. The transition of power’s smooth efficiency indicates a desire to overhaul the system that has crippled Zimbabwe for what is approaching 40 years. Underscoring the jubilation is a modicum of concern however, because President Mnangagwa has operated within ZANU-PF at Robert Mugabe’s right-hand, serving for years in senior positions of his government. Therefore, some worry that once the dust has settled, business as usual will resume and Zimbabwe will continue to deteriorate. Whatever the future holds however, the manner in which Zimbabwe has conducted itself throughout this upheaval is nothing short of exemplary.

Contrast the prior week’s events in Zimbabwe to the tensions in Catalonia that erupted in October [2017]. Following a referendum in the autonomous region of Spain — that Madrid considered illegal (unwilling to grant a legal vote) — that seemingly favoured independence with over 90% of the vote share, Spanish national authorities reacted with harsh censure. Spanish national police intervened at polling stations with brute force, injuring many Catalonians, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy charging Carles Puidgemont and his regional government with sedition. Since returning from exile in Brussels, Puidgemont was detained by the Spanish government as Mariano Rajoy hopes to make electoral gains in Catalonia next month [December 2017]. While the ousting of Robert Mugabe has resulted in widespread praise from the international community, the Catalan referendum has received nothing but condemnation from all sides, chiefly from the EU.

The European Union has much to lose through fragmentation, Zimbabwe has much to gain from Mugabe’s disintegration, here is what causes the polarisation. After Brexit, the EU’s power has shook violently under changing attitudes towards globalism, whereas a change of governance of Zimbabwe provides an opportunity. Globalist forces can try and take hold in the liberated nation but in the region surrounding Barcelona, freedom from Madrid will mean a populist light will ignite behind other European eyes. Unfortunately (for Brussels) it already has, with Austria and the Czech Republic electing Eurosceptic leaders. Rumours of anti-EU sentiment has also threaded protests in Italy and Sweden, meanwhile, in Germany, Angela Merkel’s talks to form a government have collapsed, prompting the possibility for new elections to take place. Despite pro-integration forces conspiring to tie a continent fraying, EU dependents like Spain, now indebted to the European Central Bank and gripped with mass youth unemployment must cling on. Where the coup in Zimbabwe was softly-softly, Brussels’ utilises Mugabe’s principles softly-softly, unfortunately, many in Europe have noticed this gentle coercion.