Abstract
This chapter investigates one of the most exigent aspects of political communication: whether campaign promises, and pledges effectively sway voters to vote for particular candidates. By drawing on the Zimbabwean case study, the chapter shows how politicians often use campaign pledges and promises to hoodwink voters. This is pronounced through false, fake, and unfulfilled promises and misrepresentations. Many voters then fall for the lies, empty policy and programmatic promises by political candidates, thus falling vulnerable to deception by politicians. The chapter draws on qualitative research methodologies. The study contributes to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the ongoing and polemic discussions on the use of political rhetoric and the power of persuasion in political communication. The chapter establishes that though political deceit is primarily utilised in political campaigns worldwide, this often short changes voters, especially those who vote for candidates based on policy and programmatic content and value. The chapter establishes that political deceit goes contrary to the dictates of democratic representation and participatory democracy.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, J., & McGregor, J. (2013). Introduction: Politics, patronage and violence in Zimbabwe. Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(4), 749–763.
Arendt, H. (1958). The human condition. University of Chicago Press.
Baek, M. (2009). A comparative analysis of political communication systems and voter turnout. American Journal of Political Science, 53(2), 376–393.
BBC News. (2017, November22). Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa promises jobs in new democracy. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42077233
Born, A., van Eck, P., & Johannesson, M. (2018). An experimental investigation of election promises. Political Psychology, 39(3), 685–705.
Bratton, M., & Masunungure, E.V. (2018, June). Public Attitudes toward Zimbabwe’s 2018 Elections: Downbeat yet Hopeful? Afrobarometer Policy Paper No. 47. https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Documents%20de%20politiques/ab_r7_policypaperno47_public_attitudes_toward_zimbabwe_2018_election_1.pdf
Bulawayo24News, 15 July 2018.
Callander, S., & Wilkie, S. (2007). Lies, damned lies, and political campaigns. Games and Economic Behavior, 60(2), 262–286.
Chibuwe, A., & Munoriyarwa, A. (2023). ‘Repetition without change?’: A critical discourse analysis of selected ZANU-PF advertisements for the July 2013 and July 2018 elections. Discourse & Communication.
Corazzini, L., Kube, S., Maréchal, M. A., & Nicolo, A. (2014). Elections and deceptions: An experimental study on the behavioral effects of democracy. American Journal of Political Science, 58(3), 579–592.
Dahl, R. A. (1971). Polyarchy: Participation and opposition. Yale University Press.
Dahl, R. A. (1975). Governments and political oppositions. In Fred I. Greenstein & Nelson W. Polsby (Eds.), Handbook of political science, 3, 115–174. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
Dahl, R. A. (1990). Myth of the presidential mandate. Political Science Quarterly, 105(3), 355–372.
Davis, M. L., & Ferrantino, M. (1996). Towards a positive theory of political rhetoric: Why do politicians lie? Public Choice, 88(1–2), 1–13.
Duggan, J. (2000). Repeated elections with asymmetric information. Economics & Politics, 12(2), 109–135.
Druckman, J. N., & Holmes, J. W. (2004). Does presidential rhetoric matter? Priming and presidential approval. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34(4), 755–778.
Duval, D., & Pétry, F. (2019). Time and the fulfillment of election pledges. Political Studies, 67(1), 207–223.
Enos, R. D., & Fowler, A. (2018). Aggregate effects of large-scale campaigns on voter turnout. Political Science Research and Methods, 6(4), 733–751.
Ferejohn, J. (1986). Incumbent performance and electoral control. Public choice, 5–25.
Ghazal-Aswad, N. (2019). Exploring charismatic leadership: A comparative analysis of the rhetoric of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 49(1), 56–74.
Greene, K. F. (2011). Campaign persuasion and nascent partisanship in Mexico’s new democracy. American Journal of Political Science, 55(2), 398–416.
Healy, A., & Malhotra, N. (2013). Retrospective voting reconsidered. Annual Review of Political Science, 16, 285–306.
Herald. 26 July 2018.
Herald. 7 May 2018.
Herald. 17 October 2019.
Hillygus, D. S., & Shields, T. G. (2008). The persuadable voter: Wedge issues in presidential campaigns. Princeton University Press.
Hayes, D. (2008). Does the messenger matter? Candidate-media agenda convergence and its effects on voter issue salience. Political Research Quarterly, 61(1), 134–146.
Kaplan, N., Park, D., & Ridout, T. (2006). Dialogue in American political campaigns? an examination of issue convergence in candidate television advertising. American Journal of Political Science, 50(3), 724–736.
Key, V. O. (1966). The responsible electorate: Rationality in Presidential Voting, 1936–1960. Harvard University Press.
Kostadinova, P. (2013). Democratic performance in post-communist Bulgaria: Election pledges and levels of fulfillment, 1997–2005. East European Politics, 29(2), 190–207.
Kumar, A. (2022). Political campaigning and party strategies: The importance of rallies in the northern states. South Asian History and Culture, 13(3), 285–304.
Machiavelli, N. (2003). The prince. Penguin Classics.
MacKenzie, A., & Bhatt, I. (2021). Bad faith, bad politics, bad consequences: The epistemic harms of online deceit. In A. MacKenzie, J. Rose & I. Bhatt (Eds.), The epistemology of deceit in a postdigital era: Dupery by design. Springer.
Mansergh, L., & Thomson, R. (2007). Election pledges, party competition, and policymaking. Comparative Politics, 311–329.
Markwat, N. (2023). Not as expected: The role of performance expectations in voter responses to election pledge fulfilment. European Political Science, 1–17.
Milita, K., Ryan, J. B., & Simas, E. N. (2014). Nothing to hide, nowhere to run, or nothing to lose: Candidate position-taking in congressional elections. Political Behavior, 36, 427–449.
Moury, C. (2011). Italian coalitions and electoral promises: Assessing the democratic performance of the Prodi I and Berlusconi II governments. Modern Italy, 16(1), 35–50.
Mutsvairo, B., & Muneri, C. T. (2019). Journalism, democracy, and human rights in Zimbabwe. Lexington Books.
Mwonzora, G. (2018, July 26). Why Zimbabwe’s first elections after the Mugabe ouster are so significant. The Conversations. https://theconversation.com/why-zimbabwes-first-elections-after-the-mugabe-ouster-are-so-significant-100505
Naurin, E. (2014). Is a promise a promise? Election pledge fulfilment in comparative perspective using Sweden as an example. West European Politics, 37(5), 1046–1064.
Naurin, E., & Thomson, R. (2020). The fulfilment of election pledges. Research Handbook on Political Representation, 289–300.
Naurin, E., Royed, T. J., & Thomson, R. (Eds.). (2019). Party mandates and democracy: Making, breaking, and keeping election pledges in twelve countries. New Comparative Politics.
Ndakaripa, M. (2021). Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown: Are sanctions really to blame? The Washington Quarterly, 44(2), 95–120.
Ndlela, M. N., & Mano, W. (2020). The changing face of election campaign in Africa. Social Media and Election in Africa, 1, 1–12.
News24 (2013, July 29). Policies and promises of ZANU-PF, MDC. https://www.news24.com/news24/policies-and-promises-of-zanu-pf-mdc-20130729
NewZimbabwe. (2018, June 12). Mnangagwa promises 78 new hospitals, rivals say he must stop writing new manifestos daily. https://www.newzimbabwe.com/mnangagwa-promises-78-new-hospitals-rivals-say-he-must-stop-writing-new-manifestos-daily/
NewZimbabwe. (2023, March 7). White ex-farmers say not received a cent promised $3.5 billion compensation. https://www.newzimbabwe.com/white-ex-farmers-say-not-received-a-cent-of-promised-3-5-billion-compensation/
Paget, D. (2019). The rally-intensive campaign: A distinct form of electioneering in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. The International Journal of Press/politics, 24(4), 444–464.
Patterson, T. E. (1993). Out of order. Random House.
Pétry, F., & Collette, B. (2009). Measuring how political parties keep their promises: A positive perspective from political science. Do they walk like they talk? Speech and action in policy processes, 65–80.
Pétry, F., Duval, D., & Birch, L. (2020). Do regional governments fulfil fewer election promises than national governments? The case of Quebec in comparative perspective. Party Politics, 26(4), 415–425.
Reuters. (2018, July 26). ‘Young contender Chamisa promises Zimbabwe break from the past’ by McDonald Dzirutwe. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-election-chamisa-newsmaker-idUSKBN1KG1R0
Riaz, S. (2010). Effects of new media technologies on political communication. Journal of Political Studies, 17(2), 161.
Schedler, A. (1998). The normative force of electoral promises. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 10(2), 191–214.
Schroedel, J., Bligh, M., Merolla, J., & Gonzalez, R. (2013). Charismatic rhetoric in the 2008 presidential campaign: Commonalities and differences. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 43(1), 101–128.
Schweitzer, A. (1974). Theory and political charisma. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 16(2), 150–181.
Shepsle, K. (1972). The strategy of ambiguity: Uncertainty and electoral competition. American Political Science Review, 66(2), 555–568.
Standard. 15 July 2018.
Szwarcberg, M. (2012). Uncertainty, political clientelism, and voter turnout in Latin America: Why parties conduct rallies in Argentina. Comparative Politics, 45(1), 88–106.
Szwarcberg, M. (2014). Political parties and rallies in Latin America. Party Politics, 20(3), 456–466.
Tavits, M. (2007). Principle vs. pragmatism: Policy shifts and political competition. American Journal of Political Science, 51(1), 151–165.
Thomson, R. (2011). Citizens’ evaluations of the fulfillment of election pledges: Evidence from Ireland. The Journal of Politics, 73(1), 187–201.
Thomson, R., & Brandenburg, H. (2019). Trust and citizens’ evaluations of promise keeping by governing parties. Political Studies, 67(1), 249–266.
Tomz, M., & van Houweling, R. (2009). Candidate inconsistency and voter choice. Stanford University Typescript.
Tshuma, L. A. (2021). Political billboards, promise, and persuasion: An analysis of ZANU-PF’s 2018 harmonised elections political campaign. Journal of Marketing Communications, 27(3), 307–321.
Vokes, R., & Wilkins, S. (2016). Party, patronage and coercion in the NRM’S 2016 re-election in Uganda: Imposed or embedded? Journal of Eastern African Studies, 10(4), 581–600.
Werner, A. (2019). What voters want from their parties: Testing the promise-keeping assumption. Electoral Studies, 57, 186–195.
ZANU-PF. (2018). ZANU-PF Party Election Manifesto, Harare. https://webcms.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/495/country_documents2020/Zimbabwe/ZANU_PF_2018_MANIFESTO_ENGLISH_%20(39.51).pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mwonzora, G. (2023). ‘Too Good to be True’: Unfulfilled Campaign Promises, Pledges, and Political Deceit in Zimbabwe. In: Mavengano, E., Mhute, I. (eds) Sub-Saharan Political Cultures of Deceit in Language, Literature, and the Media, Volume II. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42883-8_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42883-8_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-42882-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-42883-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)