SFRC Hearing Preview: Todd Moss on USG Policy and Zimbabwe

As Zimbabwe heads into elections late this summer (spoiler alert:  Mugabe will “win”), the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs is holding a hearing titled Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe, Tuesday June 18 at 10 am.

CGD’s Todd Moss, along with Dewa Mahvinga from Human Rights Watch and Mark Schneider from International Crisis Group are testifying, as are Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Yamamoto and Assistant Administrator for Africa of USAID Earl Gast on the government panel.

I’ll be listening for Todd’s assessment of current US government policy, as well as how the United States should be preparing for a transition from 89-year old Mugabe’s 33-year reign. More sanctions? Less sanctions? Lift sanctions? Is there a useful role for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to play? Does the election mean anything? There are no longer trillion dollar bills in circulation but is Zimbabwe’s economy really on the road to recovery (and what happened to all that diamond revenue)?

Tune in here Tuesday at 10 am to find out.

Here’s Todd’s 2009 SFRC testimony on Zimbabwe.

And a selection of Todd’s work on Zimbabwe:

• Moving Mugabe’s Mountain: Zimbabwe’s Path to Arrears Clearance and Debt Relief (November 2009) with Ben Leo
• Three Steps to Restore Democracy to Zimbabwe (January 2009)
• The Day After Comrade Bob:  Applying Post-Conflict Reconstruction Lessons to Zimbabwe (December 2005) with Stewart Patrick
• Costs and Causes of Zimbabwe’s Crisis (July 2005) with Michael Clemens