Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses how unemployed and self-employed young men and women in a small town in Zimbabwe navigate the local politics and sometimes violent political actors in the local economy, in pursuit of economic opportunities. It shows their agency in a repressive political environment.

Paper long abstract:

Based on a qualitative study in a small town of Zimbabwe, this paper discusses how young people navigate the sometimes violent politics in the local economy. Here, party affiliated actors shape access to economic opportunities, and influence the viability of young people's economic activities. Young people are having to navigate these politics of the local economy, and the potentially violent political actors. In this study, focus groups and individual interviews were carried out with unemployed youth and young entrepreneurs, including those affiliated with different parties. The paper describes how young people agency is informed by the social networks and relationships in which they are embedded, and how linkages to political parties figure among those relationships. The paper argues that the local (informal) economy is more than a space where young people can earn an income. It is a site for social practice, where young people interact with peers and construct their identities in interaction with their social context, and where they may also learn how to navigate the local politics, in order to secure economic opportunities.