Mundende, James, H.

Ian Smith's Rhodesia and the War Economy: An historical Inquiry into Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI)'s Stratagems to Burst British Sanctions, 1965 to 1979

Zimbabwe's colonial past was characterized by upturns and downturns both politically and economically from 1890 to 1980. But it was the regime of Ian Smith's UDI that stood out from others that came before him in terms of its longevity in power and the decisional circumstances that surrounded and informed its operative stratagems to survive external and endogenous intrigues. This article examines the stratagems that Ian Smith's war economy adopted to circumvent threats of national liberation war, diplomatic isolation and British sanctions. The paper is of the opinion that UDI got a lifeline from its deviance from the conventional macroeconomic fundamentals. Such economic deviance had largely proven to have some adaptive capacity, accuracy and immediacy for a while, until 1972. His stratagems of response worked well for the first five years. And to his credit though seldomly recorded, Smith succeeded in making his UDI project transcended beyond the intrigues of war economy, therefore he was a pragmatic; conventionally-deviant and conviction-bound politician. This paper has some balanced findings and incisive analyses that can inform one's attempt to fathom the Zimbabwe's colonial history and its historiography. Young researchers and upcoming historians, National studies students and policy makers would benefit from this article. Lastly, the body of history literature is enriched in terms of qualitative data as more insights and narratives are made available for further research development. The researcher employed historicist methodology also called historical-logic technique which is based on qualitative analysis of specific historical literature and synthesizing it with oral histories. Primary data was gathered from the aged population segment which is a demographic group of participants who are remnants of the colonial periods. The sample had a characterization of a minimum threshold age of 60 years. They were purposively sampled based on age. Oral histories enriched the data from secondary sources.

Cite: Mundende, James, H. 2026. Ian Smith's Rhodesia and the War Economy: An historical Inquiry into Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI)'s Stratagems to Burst British Sanctions, 1965 to 1979. Holistic Science Publications, Intellectual History Archive, Finland. p.25-43. 
https://www.holistic-science-publications.com/i-h-archive2/