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Amb. John Campbell on Emmerson Mnangagwe and the future of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s new leader, Emmerson Mnangagwe, has the backing of the military and a fearsome nickname: the Crocodile. We spoke with Amb. John Campbell about what to expect from his first weeks in power after the unexpected ouster of long-serving Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe and why we should be watching his cabinet picks closely. Mnangagwe was a close associate of Mugabe’s; many wonder if he can chart a different path.

About Amb. John Campbell:

John Campbell is the Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. Rowman & Littlefield published his book Morning in South Africa in May 2016. Rowman & Littlefield also published his book, Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink. The second edition was published in June 2013. He writes the blog “Africa in Transition” and edits both the Nigeria Security Tracker and the Sub-Saharan Security Tracker.

From 1975 to 2007, Campbell served as a U.S. Department of State Foreign Service officer. He served twice in Nigeria, as political counselor from 1988 to 1990, and as ambassador from 2004 to 2007. Campbell’s additional overseas postings include Lyon, Paris, Geneva, and Pretoria. He also served as deputy assistant secretary for human resources, dean of the Foreign Service Institute’s School of Language Studies, and director of the Office of UN Political Affairs.

From 2007 to 2008, he was a visiting professor of international relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was also a Department of State mid-career fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Prior to his career in the Foreign Service, he taught British and French history at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia.

Campbell received a BA and MA from the University of Virginia and a PhD in seventeenth century English history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.