Property, Institutions, and Social Stratification in Africa

Obeng‐Odoom, Franklin

doi:10.1017/9781108590372

Cited by 60 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 479 publications

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“…At present, existing scholarship has dedicated very little attention to the local political, economic, and social factors that shape the fight against COVID-19, which is surprising, as scholars have highlighted the political economy of recent epidemics, including COVID-19 [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Sanders and colleagues, for example, stressed the economic and political forces that have contributed to the severe weakness of health systems of West African countries which were seriously affected by the Ebola virus [ 23 ], and COVID-19 highlights the need to take inequality and social stratification in Africa seriously [ 28 ]. This paper adds to this emerging research stream by analysing the political economy of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon and addressing two core questions: (a) What are the economic and political roots of Cameroon’s weak health care system?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Pathology of the Economic and Political Architecture in Cameroon

Ojöng

2020

Healthcare

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This article examines the factors restricting an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon. It argues that structural adjustment policies in the 1980s and 1990s as well as corruption and limited investment in recent times have severely weakened the country’s health system. This article also emphasises the interconnection between poverty, slums, and COVID-19. This interconnection brings to the fore inequality in Cameroon. Arguably, this inequality could facilitate the spread of COVID-19 in the country. This article draws attention to the political forces shaping the response to the pandemic and contends that in some regions in the country, the lack of an effective response to the pandemic may not necessarily be due to a lack of resources. In so doing, it critiques the COVID-19 orthodoxy that focuses exclusively on the pathology of the disease and advocates “technical” solutions to the pandemic, while ignoring the political and socio-economic forces that shape the fight against the pandemic. At times, medical supplies and other forms of assistance may be available, but structural violence impairs access to these resources. Politics must be brought into the COVID-19 discourse, as it shapes the response to the pandemic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Pathology of the Economic and Political Architecture in Cameroon

Ojöng

2020

Healthcare

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“…However, as recently demonstrated by BIOS Research Unit (2020), some of this optimism is based on questionable information (see Daly, 2020). Others can be questioned for comparing long-term socio-ecological change with short-term outcomes of a pandemic (Obeng-Odoom, 2020a). Still, humanity seems to have rediscovered its sacrosanct relationship with nature.…”

Section: Growthmaniamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, absentee landlord wealthy nations and their TNCs continue to monopolize the land commons in the Global South. As recent research (Obeng-Odoom, 2020c, 2021) shows, not only do they control the global value chains and the global commodity chains, they also control the downstream transport and fuel industries. They make decisions and influence world mineral pricing, while shaping the demand and supply of such resources.…”

Section: Limits To Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Sustainability: From Monism and Pluralism to Citizenship

Obeng‐Odoom

2020

Journal of Education for Sustainable Development

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The current pandemic might temporarily slow down environmentally destructive economic growth. However, claiming that we are flattening the curve of (un)sustainability is dangerous. The global sustainability crisis is not just being driven by uneconomic growth but also increasing global inequality and social stratification. Teaching this key lesson requires widening the repertoire of sustainability pedagogy from the conventional wisdom of pedagogical monism to the radical approach centred on both pluralism and pedagogical citizenship.

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“…Yet, to date, in spite of the renewed policy interest in customary tenure institutions, little is known at least empirically about the factors that have allowed them to withstand colonial and post-colonial reforms and retain their role in local-level land governance. With the notable exception of few recent studies [8,9,30,31], there is a relative dearth of empirical focus on the potential role of the customary in the contemporary context, particularly with respect to land disputes and traditional dispute resolution pathways [32][33][34]. More nuanced and detailed contextual understanding of the operations of customary tenure institutions and the limits of their adaptability remain critical to better inform and guide on-going and future interventions towards the integration of customary tenure systems into the formal statutory framework for improved tenure security and effective land dispute resolution [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building on “Traditional” Land Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Rural Ghana: Adaptive or Anachronistic?

Asaaga¹

2021

Preprint

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Despite the ongoing land administration reforms being implemented across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Ghana as viable pathway to achieve tenure security and greater efficiency in land administration, the subject of land dispute resolution has received relatively less attention. Whereas customary tenure institutions play a central role in land administration (controlling ~80% of all land in Ghana), they remain at the fringes of the formal land dispute adjudicatory process. Recognizing the pivotal role traditional institutions as development agents and potential vehicles for promoting good land governance, recent discourse on land tenure have geared towards mainstreaming traditional land disputes institutions into the architecture of formal judicial process via alternative dispute resolution pathways. Yet little is known at least empirically as to the operations of traditional dispute resolution institutions in the contemporary context. This study therefore explores the importance of traditional dispute resolution institutions in the management of land-related disputes in southcentral and western Ghana. Drawing on data collated from 380 farming households operating 746 plots. The results show that contrary to the conventional thinking that traditional institutions are anachronistic and not fit for purpose, they remain strong and preferred forum for land dispute resolution (proving resilient and adaptable) given the changing socio-economic and tenurial conditions. Yet these forums have differing implications for different actors within the customary spheres accessing them. The results highlight practical ways for incorporating traditional dispute resolution in the overall land governance setup in Ghana and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. This has implications for redesigning context-specific and appropriate land-use policy interventions that address local land dispute resolution.

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Property, Institutions, and Social Stratification in Africa

Cited by 60 publications

References 479 publications

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Pathology of the Economic and Political Architecture in Cameroon

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Pathology of the Economic and Political Architecture in Cameroon

Teaching Sustainability: From Monism and Pluralism to Citizenship

Building on “Traditional” Land Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Rural Ghana: Adaptive or Anachronistic?

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