Commonwealth Games: Fraser's vision and Zimbabwe's road to majority rule

Abstract

Zimbabwe has been an area of interest in Australia’s foreign policy for over twenty years. Both countries were former British colonies, they have both been members of the Commonwealth, and more recently the policies and actions of President Robert Mugabe have drawn considerable attention and concern, both internationally and from Australia. While the recent events in Zimbabwe have caused a great deal of focus on contemporary Zimbabwe, this paper instead revisits Rhodesia-Zimbabwe’s road to independence and majority rule, paying particular attention to the involvement of the Australian Prime Minister of the time, Mr Malcolm Fraser.