Economic Globalization in Zimbabwe

Although, as Gereffi explains in The Global Economy: Organization, Governance and Development, Africa has "very few success stories in the realm of export-oriented development," or global commerce in its most general sense for that matter, even countries as poor and politically dysfunctional as Zimbabwe seem to have something to offer to the global economy (182). It has found "a niche in the fresh vegetable market," which, as Gereffi notes, is "a buyer-driven value chain" (182). Although there seems to be a certain amount of exploitation in this exportation process as "African labor is relatively cheap," making it much more cost efficient for UK supermarkets to rely on "the horticulture industry in sub-Saharan Africa," there seems to be a hint of hopeful optimism that these nations have found a way to contribute to the greater world economic network (182).
It seems extremely unfortunate that although the majority of African nations are rich in resources and have a huge amount to offer to the world, only a fragment of their potential is currently recognized in the world market. Not only would greater participation in global economics undoubtedly aid the drowning Zimbabwean government, but it is also likely that if the nation were a more integrated part of the world economic system, a certain amount of Mugabe's tyrannical power would have to be surrendered in favor of global influences. Further involvement in Economic Globalization would invariably have mutual benefits for both countries such as Zimbabwe and the global economy as a whole.