Conclusion

Summary

This chapter synthesises the main arguments made in the book. I discuss how the study of the cholera outbreak has been used to illuminate a wider set of questions ranging from the character of the Zimbabwean state to the nature of structural inequalities in Zimbabwean society, ideational formations in everyday life, and, more widely, the myriad meanings, memories and narratives the epidemic has left in its wake across public institutions and in civic life. I put forward the contributions that this project makes to scholarly debates about the emergence of catastrophic epidemics and the transformation of state institutions in Zimbabwe, about the politics of responding to complex emergencies, and about citizenship and political subjectivity. I place the cholera outbreak in comparative perspective by suggesting how the insights gleaned from this book might be relevant to other major epidemics in Africa. Finally, I conclude on a cautionary note as Zimbabwe continues to suffer from recurrent diarrhoeal disease outbreaks that disproportionately affect the poor. But I also note that the country’s politics are not a foregone conclusion and, despite the pessimistic tone of this book, reasons for optimism are to be found in the complexity, diversity and richness of Zimbabwean people and society.