Infrastructure projects and rural politics in northern Kenya: the use of divergent expertise to negotiate the terms of land deals for transport infrastructure

Building on the ruins of empire: the Uganda Railway and the LAPSSET corridor in Kenya

“…3 The LAPSSET's particular relevance furthermore rises from its geopolitical implications, both regionally and globally. Regionally, the LAPSSET corridor is expected to establish and secure Kenya not only as an important link to overseas trade, but also as part of a 'land bridge' connecting the continent from the east coast to the west coast (Enns, 2017). While spearheaded by the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) under the government of Kenya, the LAPSSET project aims at joining different interests arising from regional as well as private business (Browne 2015).…”

“…At least to some degree, the LAPSSET seems to have that effect as well, as most pastoralists seem to encounter it as an obstacle rather than a relation (Enns 2017(Enns , 2018. Interlocutors interviewed in areas along the corridor stressed the difficulties the LAPSSET would pose to the herding of animals.…”

Mobilizing research on Africa's development corridors

“…Furthermore, because the construction of corridors is an exercise of power over territory and population, it is political in and of itself. Some recent work has attempted to understand why people mobilize in response to proposed development corridors Ð particularly when corridors risk impeding their mobility (Enns 2017). However, more work needs to be done to better understand the diverse strategies people use to resist and overturn changing patterns of mobility along corridor routes.…”

How to understand a development corridor? The case of Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia‐Transport corridor in Kenya

“…LAPSSET presents an interesting case study, for, implemented by private contractors from the Global South, this transport and infrastructure corridor is the most ambitious megaproject in Eastern Africa designed to connect Kenya with South Sudan and Ethiopia (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport [LAPSSET], 2017). However, LAPSSET is also central to Kenya's national development strategy Vision 2030, designed to transform Kenya into a newly industrialised country and to overcome its old aid dependencies and achieve a "middle-income status" in less than two decades (Enns, 2017). Therefore, in this paper I specifically focus on the socio-political function of LAPSSET in the context of Kenya.…”