Abstract

For over a decade, the “shrinking civic space” has been the dominant framework for analysing state-society relations, a narrative given urgent validation in Zimbabwe by the 2025 enactment of the restrictive Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Act. This paper argues, however, that a focus on domestic repression alone is insufficient, as Zimbabwean civil society confronts a dual crisis created by the convergence of this legislative assault with the simultaneous withdrawal of international donor funding. Moving beyond the “shrinking” metaphor, this study contends that this crisis is not merely closing civic space but is fundamentally reshaping it, catalysing a painful but necessary reckoning with the vulnerabilities of a professionalised, donor-dependent NGO/CSO model. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 young Zimbabwean activists conducted between April and June 2025, the paper explores the adaptive strategies emerging from this contested terrain. The findings reveal a significant strategic pivot away from national-level advocacy towards localised, community-driven organising. Activists are demonstrating significant resilience by creating informal pockets of democracy and adopting fluid, infrapolitical tactics in place of formal protest. This paper concludes that this moment of crisis, is forcing a potentially transformative re-evaluation of activism, leading to the emergence of a more locally grounded, agile, and arguably more authentic form of civic engagement in Zimbabwe.

Keywords: Civic Space, Zimbabwe, Youth Activism, PVO Amendment Act, Donor Funding, Social Movements, State-Society Relations, Infrapolitics