A Predictable Tragedy is a tour de force of political analysis about how and why President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have brought Zimbabwe to ruin since coming to power in 1980.The "Tragedy” in the title refers to several tragedies which have engulfed the southern African country of Zimbabwe, formerly Southern Rhodesia, over the past 30 years. In a section entitled "Economic Free Fall” Compagnon gives a heart-breaking description of the economic and social collapse, which has brought so much misery and suffering to the vast majority of Zimbabweans. The main subject of this book, however, is the political tragedy which has brought Zimbabwe to the brink of being a failed state. Daniel Compagnon is a French political scientist who has written about Zimbabwean elections and politics for more than 15 years. In this book, he systematically explains the rise and growth of autocratic and personal rule by President Robert Mugabe.