2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état

== Analysis ==
Derek Matyszak, an analyst from the [[Institute for Security Studies]], said that it was rare to see [[tank]]s on Zimbabwe's roads, and that their mere presence meant that the country was "entering new territory".<ref name=":5"/> According to [[Nii Akuetteh]], an African policy analyst, the army's decision to present its actions as not being a coup was to avoid garnering opposition to their actions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/zimbabwe-army-seizes-state-tv-denies-coup-ongoing-171115051459998.html|title=Zimbabwe army seizes state TV but denies coup ongoing|date=15 November 2017|publisher=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115055748/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/zimbabwe-army-seizes-state-tv-denies-coup-ongoing-171115051459998.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Brian Latham, a journalist with [[Bloomberg News|''Bloomberg'']], judged that the future succession to Mugabe would be determined by four power brokers in the Zimbabwe elite. In addition to [[Emmerson Mnangagwa]] and [[Constantino Chiwenga|Constantine Chiwenga]], Latham also deemed that the influence of Lieutenant-General [[Philip Valerio Sibanda]] and Air Marshal [[Perrance Shiri]] would be decisive.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-15/zimbabwe-power-brokers-key-figures-in-battle-to-succeed-mugabe|title=Zimbabwe Power Brokers: Key Figures in Battle to Succeed Mugabe|date=15 November 2017|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=16 November 2017|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116032954/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-15/zimbabwe-power-brokers-key-figures-in-battle-to-succeed-mugabe|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2019 study argued that the coup occurred "because soldiers from Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war subscribed to the coup's stated ideal to restore liberation struggle principles in the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front party as well as party members who had been sidelined. Liberation war veterans held decisive army and air force command posts when the coup occurred... the coup's catalyst was Mugabe's refusal to meet his generals on 13 November 2017, for vital talks on widening differences between both parties. Sealing off dialogue catalyzed the coup."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tendi|first=Blessing-Miles|title=The Motivations and Dynamics of Zimbabwe's 2017 Military Coup|journal=African Affairs|language=en|doi=10.1093/afraf/adz024|year=2019|volume=119|issue=474|pages=39–67|url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1fd93d5b-9652-4244-87e3-8054b3bb4ddf/download_file?safe_filename=Tendi-2019-The-motivations-and-dynamics--.pdf&file_format=application%2Fpdf&type_of_work=Journal+article}}</ref>

===Alleged Chinese involvement===
Days before the coup, General [[Constantino Chiwenga]] visited China to meet senior Chinese military leaders, including Generals [[Chang Wanquan]] and [[Li Zuocheng]]. Chiwenga's visit to China has come under scrutiny, with speculation that he had sought Beijing's tacit approval for a possible move against Mugabe.<ref>{{Cite web|last=George|first=Ben Westcott,Steve|date=2017-11-17|title=The Chinese connection to the Zimbabwe 'coup'|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/17/africa/china-zimbabwe-mugabe-diplomacy/index.html|access-date=2023-05-16|website=CNN|language=en}}</ref> However, the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Foreign Ministry]] said that his visit was a "normal military exchange."<ref name="reuters.com"/> The Chinese embassy in South Africa called the reports of Chinese involvement "contradictory, full of logical inconsistencies, and motivated by evil intentions."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Phillips|first1=Tom|title=China rejects claims it had hand in efforts to oust Robert Mugabe|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/21/china-rejects-claims-it-had-hand-in-efforts-to-oust-robert-mugabe|work=The Guardian|date=21 November 2017|access-date=1 August 2018|archive-date=19 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119140607/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/21/china-rejects-claims-it-had-hand-in-efforts-to-oust-robert-mugabe|url-status=live}}</ref>