Discourses of ethnicity in Zimbabwe: Deliberative democracy or online misogyny?

This article draws on the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as well as Van Eemeren and Grootendorst's (2004) systematic theory of argumentation to analyse the discourses around ethnicity in Zimbabwe, as articulated through reader comments to an article that appeared on an online news site, New Zimbabwe.com. The nature of the comments points to polarised interethnic relations between the Shona and the Ndebele, as evidenced by the differential interpretations of history and social justice. The interactive features of online newspapers present an important arena for public deliberation on matters of interethnic relations in Zimbabwe. Although the anonymity afforded by the internet has been criticised for the proliferation of online misogyny in some contexts, the analysis of readers' comments on the New Zimbabwe.com website shows that the platform has to be recognised as an invaluable tool for a participatory form of democratic discourse.