But sometimes international leaders get it wrong. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe was the quintessential 'man of the moment' who, even when he was commanding his cadres to carry out the 1983/84 atrocities in Matebeleland, was touted as a statesman whose administration was a model for other nations.As it turned out later, his formula for running the country - including the latter-day assault on democracy - proved to be too unconventional even for the 'international community.'
International leaders now seem to be falling over each other to award Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai (head of the Movement for Democratic Change [MDC]) with accolades in admiration of his courage in the battle for political hegemony in Zimbabwe.Though to some degree welcome (they might help intensify the recruitment of sympathy and support for his cause from the wretched local masses and the eager international community), such awards can also unwittingly give us an unrealistic sense of political certainty about what lies ahead.
