On commission from the Ministry of Defence, the FOI Studies in African Security team is currently engaged in a number of studies relating to Southern Africa. The report has as a focal point the liberation movement mentality in southern Africa and its influence on SADC as an organisation with regards to the Zimbabwean crisis. It provides insights into why the SADC startes have pursued a policy of quiet diplomacy towards Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party in view of the crisis in Zimbabwe. It examines the constraints the liberation movement mentality places on the SADC states; the role the politics of African solidarity plays; the roles nationalism and resource redistribution play in post settler colonies; and the tensions created by the juxtaposition of the colonial past and liberation Marxist persuasion against the new-liberation political parties drive towards more democratic forms of governance. In conclusion, it gives some thoughts for the future and points to areas in need of support in order to shape a more democratic future for the SADC region.