This book is based on the case of civil service reforms that were formally adopted in Zimbabwe in 1991 and were implemented in several phases. The book investigates the implementation of these reforms and their influence by two sets of factors that are in competition with one another. There are international pressures that compel the adoption of the reforms yet the local factors resist this implementation. The local factors include elite and national mentalities, practices and preferences, and ideals about the role and scope of government. Sovereignty, Corruption and Civil Service Reform Implementation in Zimbabwe recommends that the traditional discourse on administrative reform and management capacity building in Africa and other developing countries needs to be extended in recognition of the importance of this tension.