African Land Reform Under Economic Liberalisation
African Land Reform Under Economic Liberalisation

Author: Shinichi Takeuchi

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-10-10

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 9811647259

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This open access book offers unique in-depth, comprehensive, and comparative analyses of the motivations, context, and outcomes of recent land reforms in Africa. Whereas a considerable number of land reforms have been carried out by African governments since the 1990s, no systematic analysis on their meaning has so far been conducted. In the age of land reform, Africa has seen drastic rural changes. Analysing the relationship between those reforms and change, the chapters in this book reveal not only their socio-economic outcomes, such as accelerated marketisation of land, but also their political outcomes, which have often been contrasting. Countries such as Rwanda and Mozambique have utilised land reform to strengthen state control over land, but other countries, such as Ghana and Zambia, have seen the rise in power of traditional chiefs in managing the land. The comparative perspective of this book clarifies new features of African social changes, which are carefully investigated by area experts. Providing new perspectives on recent land reform, this book will have a considerable impact on scholars as well as policymakers.

Autocracy and Redistribution
Autocracy and Redistribution

Author: Michael Albertus

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1316404684

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When and why do countries redistribute land to the landless? What political purposes does land reform serve, and what place does it have in today's world? A long-standing literature dating back to Aristotle and echoed in important recent works holds that redistribution should be both higher and more targeted at the poor under democracy. Yet comprehensive historical data to test this claim has been lacking. This book shows that land redistribution - the most consequential form of redistribution in the developing world - occurs more often under dictatorship than democracy. It offers a novel theory of land reform and develops a typology of land reform policies. Albertus leverages original data spanning the world and dating back to 1900 to extensively test the theory using statistical analysis and case studies of key countries such as Egypt, Peru, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. These findings call for rethinking much of the common wisdom about redistribution and regimes.

Land Matters
Land Matters

Author: Tembeka Ngcukaitobi

Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa

Published: 2021-04-01

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1776095979

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Why has land reform been such a failure in South Africa? Will expropriation without compensation solve the problem? What can be done to get the land programme back on track? In Land Matters, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi tackles the past, present and future of the land question in South Africa. Going back in history, he shows how Africans’ communal systems of landownership were used by colonial rulers to deny that Africans owned the land at all. He explores the effects of the Land Acts, Bantustans and forced removals. And he evaluates the ANC’s policies on land throughout the struggle years, during the negotiations of the 1990s, and in government. Land Matters unpacks the government’s achievements and failures in land redistribution, restitution and tenure reform, and makes suggestions for what needs to be done in future. The book also explores the power of chiefs, the tension between communal landownership and the desire for private title, the failure of the willing-seller, willing-buyer approach, women and land reform, the role of banks, and the debates around amending the Constitution. Steering clear of the simplistic and polarising terms of the land debate, Ngcukaitobi argues for a return to the nuanced constitutional requirements of justice and equity in South Africa’s land policy. Thoughtful and provocative, Land Matters sheds light on one of the most topical, complex and urgent issues in South Africa today.

Negotiating Reconciliation in Peacemaking
Negotiating Reconciliation in Peacemaking

Author: Valerie Rosoux

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-11-01

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 3319626744

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This book offers a unique approach to reconciliation as a matter for negotiation, bringing together two bodies of theory in order to offer insights into resolving conflicts and achieving lasting peace. It argues that reconciliation should not be simply accepted as an ‘agreed-upon norm’ within peacemaking processes, but should receive serious attention from belligerents and peace-brokers seeking to end violent conflicts through negotiation. The book explores different meanings the term ‘reconciliation’ might hold for parties in conflict - the end of overt hostilities, a transformation in the quality of relations between warring groups, a vehicle of accountability and punishment of human rights abusers or the means through which they might somehow acquire amnesty, and as a means of atonement and to material reparation. It considers what gives energy to the idea of reconciliation in a conflict situation—why do belligerents become interested in settling their differences and changing their attitudes to one another? Using a range of case studies and thematic discussion, chapters in this book seek to tackle these tough questions from a multidisciplinary perspective. Contributions to the book reveal some of the complexities of national and international reconciliation projects, but particularly diverse understandings of reconciliation and how to achieve it. All conflicts reflect unique dynamics, aspirations and power realities. It is precisely because parties in conflict differ in expectations of reconciliation outcomes that its processes should be negotiated. This book is a valuable resource for both scholars and practitioners engaged in resolving conflicts and transforming fragmented relations in conflict and post-conflict situations.

The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa
The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa

Author: Adeoye O. Akinola

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-11-13

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 3319648977

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This book analyzes the phenomenon of xenophobia across African countries. With its roots in colonialism, which coercively created modern states through border delineation and the artificial merging and dividing of communities, xenophobia continues to be a barrier to post-colonial sustainable peace and security and socio-economic and political development in Africa. This volume critically assesses how xenophobia has impacted the three elements of political economy: state, economy and society. Beginning with historical and theoretical analysis to put xenophobia in context, the book moves on to country-specific case studies discussing the nature of xenophobia in Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana and Zimbabwe. The chapters furthermore explore both violent and non-violent manifestations of xenophobia, and analyze how state responses to xenophobia affects African states, economies, and societies, especially in those cases where xenophobia has widespread institutional support. Providing a theoretical understanding of xenophobia and proffering sustainable solutions to the proliferation of xenophobia in the continent, this book is of use to researchers and students interested in political science, African politics, peace studies, security, and development economics, as well as policy-makers working to eradicate xenophobia in Africa.

The Invisible Line
The Invisible Line

Author: Henri A.L. Dekker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-03-02

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1351887416

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During the past two decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in issues of land reform in developing and transitional countries. This has been initiated by the large-scale re-distributive activities in former communist countries and by the growing number of claims by displaced indigenous population groups to restore their rights to land. This book provides a timely and clear overview of the historical and theoretical context of current land reform and tenure issues. Illustrated with global case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, key sections explore land and rights to land, property, land tenure and reform, and land registration. Beginning by discussing the need to demarcate space by creating 'invisible lines' - which give certainty to what extent authority over land can be established - the book then explores legal and theoretical definitions of 'land' and 'property' and looks at the various different policies and forms of land tenure. One of the most recent developments in land reform policy has been to look to traditional forms of access to land and of resource conservation. The book argues that, while such policies on land property rights have great potential, they are best being adopted in a long-term, incremental way. It also shows how land policy reforms must be embedded in institutional and general policy reforms, complemented by rural development and educational opportunities for beneficiaries. The book summarises the main principles of land reform activities and practices and argues that the perception of land tenure security is the most critical factor of success to land reform.