In 1889, Cecil John Rhodes' British South Africa Company (BSA) was granted a British mandate to colonize what was to become Southern Rhodesia. There followed a period of immigration by Europeans, which saw Africans lose the ownership of their land. This was exacerbated in 1930 when a land act actually specifically excluded Africans from owning the best land. Four years later, another act of parliament prohibited them from working in the skilled professions.

In 1965, Prime Minister Ian Smith declared a Universal Declaration of Independence, severing Rhodesia's ties with Britain, the colonial power. Economic sanctions were put into place by the international community and rival nationalist groups ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People's Union) and ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) began a civil war against white-minority rule. After a bloody campaign, the two groups forced Smith to call elections in 1980, which were won by ZANU's Robert Mugabe. The country gained its independence on April 18 of the same year, changing its name to Zimbabwe. Mugabe has ruled ever since.

ZAPU formed the opposition to Mugabe until 1987, when the party merged with ZANU. For the next decade, Zimbabwe was practically a one-party state. However, with the formation in 1999 of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), there arose a credible opposition party. Mugabe immediately declared them to be on the side of the former white colonists and MDC members have been the target of physical attacks from government supporters ever since.

The most recent presidential election, held in March 2002 and won by Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, was declared "seriously flawed" by international observers. It took place in a climate of violence, with numerous accounts of intimidation and vote-rigging coming out of the country. Zimbabwe was subsequently suspended from membership of the Commonwealth.

Aside from the political violence, the country's challenges now include the need to address unresolved land issues, a rampant AIDS problem, declining respect for the law and an economic crisis. The right to freedom of expression in Zimbabwe has also been systematically dismantled over recent years. The passage in January 2002 of the Public Order and Security Bill and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill has only served to undermine further this fundamental right.