New Books Network Nathan Munier, "Zimbabwe's Diamond Trade: The State, Resource Politics and Development" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Jan 31, 2026
Nathan Munier, political scientist and author of Zimbabwe's Diamond Trade, explores the 2006 alluvial diamond discovery in eastern Zimbabwe. He discusses how portable diamonds shaped informal mining, ownership restructurings, factional politics, and ZANU-PF consolidation. The conversation also covers international buyers, limits of the Kimberley Process, regional responses in Southern Africa, and comparisons with other resource-rich states.
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From Regional Head Start To Opaque State
- Zimbabwe was a relative regional success from 1980 to ~2000 but then institutional capacity eroded amid inflation and formal sector collapse.
- Nathan Munier shows the state became opaque as government roles blurred into informal markets and factional competition within ZANU-PF drove outcomes.
Alluvial Diamonds Change The Game
- The 2006 eastern Zimbabwe alluvial diamond discovery mattered because these gems are surface-minable and easily smuggled.
- Munier highlights that high value-per-volume made diamonds uniquely able to fund informal markets and evade state control.
Shifting Ownership, Lost Revenues
- Zimbabwe's diamond ownership structure changed repeatedly across multiple phases, reflecting shifting ZANU-PF factional control.
- This lack of continuity undermined taxation and state capture of revenues, fueling off-record trade.
