Please join the DCII in the final event of our 2025-26 Big Challenge Series on Understanding Migration: A lecture from Chipo Dendere (Wellsley College), author of the book "Death, Diversion, and Departure: Voter Exit and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in Zimbabwe."

Dr. Chipo Dendere will share insights and findings from her new book, "Death, Diversion, and Departure: Voter Exit and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in Zimbabwe" (Cambridge University Press, 2026). This groundbreaking work explores the complex interplay between voter demographics, political power, and authoritarian resilience in the context of Zimbabwe. Through gripping prose and meticulous research, Dr. Chipo Dendere shows how the emigration and/or death of young, progressive voters creates opportunities for authoritarian regimes to survive. Using Zimbabwe as a case study, Dr. Dendere shows how the lack of young, urban, and working professional voters because of mass death due to AIDS and mass migration in the wake of economic decline has increased the resilience of a regime that may have otherwise lost power. With authoritarianism on the rise globally and many citizens considering leaving home, Death, Diversion, and Departure provides timely insights into the impact of voter exit. 

Dr. Chipo Dendere is a Zimbabwean-born American academic and an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Africana Studies Department at Wellesley College. Her research focuses on democratization, elections, and voting behavior in Africa, as well as the influence of social media on politics.