ZANU-PF's violent campaigns to neutralize any and all political opposition and the attendant suffering of the Zimbabwean people has been the primary story coming out of this beleaguered country for the past decade. Timothy Scarnecchia's book traces the history of township politics in the Salisbury (Harare) area from 1940–64 to demonstrate that a democratic tradition was superseded and overwhelmed by the nationalist-inspired political violence of the 1960s. His account begins with the career of Charles Mzingeli, the ‘unofficial mayor of Harare’. A trade unionist and township advisory board member who championed the rights of township residents, including women, Mzingeli was a conspicuous figure for several decades. His political approach was emblematic of many African leaders of his generation. He worked to limit the worst excesses of colonial rule while seeking a better deal for Africans within the confines of colonialism. By the early 1950s, Mzingeli had exerted his influence with government officials to achieve some notable successes in the local arena, including the attainment of exemption certificates for women who required special permission to reside in the township. Scarnecchia judges that Mzingeli's ‘politics represented a model of what could be achieved under African leadership that came to power based on direct service to the community’ (p. 45). However, as demands for political change became more strident in the 1950s, Mzingeli was labeled a ‘sellout’ by the young, educated elites who were assuming greater political prominence in the townships. The 1957 loss of his township advisory board seat to a Salisbury City Youth League member effectively signaled the end of Mzingeli's political career.

The ascendance of an increasingly militant style of politics was accompanied by a greater tolerance for violence from nationalist leadership. While the older generation of African politicians condemned the attacks against female hostel inhabitants that occurred during bus boycott demonstrations in 1956,

What Scarnecchia aptly terms ‘the violent logic of “sellout” politics’ (p. 8) became the dominant form of political discourse and practice, as more radical nationalists condemned political efforts (including independent trade unions) that did not conform to their agenda. Faced with relentless persecution from an intransigent white government, the nationalists utilized intimidation to punish ‘collaborators’ and compel allegiance. Violence escalated from 1963, when the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) splintered, and supporters of the original party and those of the breakaway Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) engaged in bitter fighting. All too often, hapless township residents were caught in the crossfire of these struggles for supremacy.

It is hardly surprising that, when confronted with extreme levels of state repression, nationalists resorted to violence to enforce discipline and punish Africans – such as police officers – seen to be supporting white rule. What Scarnecchia deftly portrays, however, is the ways in which generation, class, and gender tensions became tools for political mobilization. Nationalist leadership sanctioned violent campaigns against specific categories of township residents to solidify support. The relationship with contemporary politics is all too evident. Another telling contribution of this book is the illustration of the extent to which violence between nationalist supporters was driven less by fundamental political differences than by the struggle for dominance between leadership cliques. This historical development also has obvious parallels in the more recent violence.

For all its strengths, The Urban Roots of Democracy and Political Violence left this reader with several unanswered questions. In an account that stresses the long-term implications of hostilities between rival supporters of ZAPU and ZANU there is relatively little detail on these campaigns of violence. How did the parties mobilize their constituencies for violence? How did local power brokers interact with national leadership? Harare and Highfield are described as battlegrounds and petrol-bomb attacks were seemingly ubiquitous, yet casualties were relatively light. How does one account for the absence of significant numbers of fatalities? Interviews with surviving party members and leaders might have provided at least partial answers to these questions and offered a perspective on the continuities and changes that have marked nationalist approaches to violence.

In summary, Scarnecchia's exploration of the roots of nationalist violence in Zimbabwe is an important and provocative work that is sure to incite debate, not least because of its salience for the current crisis in Zimbabwe.