Who is still standing with the regime in Harare?

What pressure can you put on a man who has committed so many horrendous crimes that the only way he can avoid being held to account is to never relinquish his grip on power? How could you reason with such a person? He can't save his legacy - even the still-President of the US going around Africa doling out aid in a last-minute effort to have something attached to his reign that isn't a complete disaster can't save his, so what hope does a monster like Mugabe have? Anyone he hands power over to, no matter how loyal now (that's the thing about being a tyrant: everyone tries to look loyal, even when they're just waiting for an opportunity to betray you) might be tempted to sell him out in order to save the country. You can't appeal to his better nature - he's clearly a sociopath. There's no oil there to finance an invasion which would remove him from power and ensure free and fair elections were held, and no country in the world wants to get involved in such a thing after the balls-up that was Iraq. The ICJ does not have the power to grab a leader and try him for crimes against humanity, and never will while it's powers are defined by the self-interest of other countries' leaders. Short of a coup, he's pretty much untouchable.

Still, an effective despot still needs help from outside - for example, equipment from China to block free broadcasts coming in from Zimbabwe's neighbours. But that remaining external support is dwindling. Even his former allies in the SADC are now calling for him to be removed. Except South Africa - yes, Mandela's South Africa, a state finally democratic after years of oppression - whose leader Mbeki is still standing with the Zimbabwean tyrant. I have no idea what South African voters make of that.

He's got his own little North Korea going over there. Pity there's no easy answer in respect of either, and we certainly don't have the inclination to put ourselves out looking for one. (See also Darfour, Sudan.)