This paper will analyze the history of Zimbabwe and identify the recurring themes of racism that ultimately led to Mugabe’s ascension to power and his effect on the country. I will identify the founding of Rhodesia in the late nineteenth century by Cecil Rhodes and his impact on the build-up to the Unilateral Declaration of Independence of 1965. The main purpose of my study is to identify the progression of instability in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe by looking at the country’s social and political turmoil as a result of racism by the white leadership, leading to the instability that is a major theme to this day.