Resistance, acquiescence or incorporation? An introduction to land grabbing and political reactions ‘from below’

Hall, Ruth M.; Edelman, Marc; Borras, Saturnino M.; Scoones, Ian; White, Ben; Wolford, Wendy

doi:10.4324/9781315112565-1

Cited by 42 publications

(73 citation statements)

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“…Responses to large-scale land deals can be observed among local populations as well as on the global level. One research strand focuses on 'reactions from below' (Hall et al 2015) including a number of case studies focusing on resistance against, or for better incorporation in, land investment deals (Gingembre 2015;Grajales 2015;McAllister 2015). Another research strand looks at 'reaction from above' (Margulis et al 2013) and critically discusses different global governance initiatives to regulate foreign large-scale land investments (Seufert 2013;Stephens 2013;Johnson 2016).…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This desk-based study does not therefore attempt to draw conclusions on causal relations between specific actors or strategies and outcomes, which more in-depth comparative field research methods would tackle more effectively." (Polack et al 2013: 31) While the literature which focuses specifically on the role of legal arguments, representation or legal institutions in large-scale land deals is rather sparse, more research exists around resistance more generally (Hall et al 2015). Parts of this literature builds on conceptualizations of peasant resistance (Moreda 2015;Kandel 2015;Martiniello 2015) and focuses on forms of 'everyday resistance'.…”

Section: 32mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

Schramm¹

2020

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This book enquires how local communities affected by large-scale land deals make use of legal norms to protect their interests. It combines legal, social mobilisation and business management approaches to identify conditions that promise success in this respect, which are explored in four case studies from two countries: Sierra Leone and the Philippines. The findings of these studies show the relevance of the national legal opportunity structure, strong support networks and the specific characteristics of a company in this regard. The role of political elites and the unity of local actors are also discussed. This book is especially relevant for academics and practitioners interested in the relationship between legal frameworks and local reactions to foreign investors. It also contributes to the research literature on legal mobilisation by going beyond the Western world. Finally, the book offers perspectives on the ‘middle ground’ of social mobilisation phenomenons, which are neither social movements nor everyday resistance.

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Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 32mentioning

confidence: 99%

Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

Schramm¹

2020

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“…Millar 2015; Moreda 2015; Hall et al . 2015; Ndi 2017; Ndi & Batterbury 2017; Wanki & Ndi 2019), have responded to Marc Edelman's call to undertake research that is more micro-focused and historically grounded (Edelman 2013), in order to have a better understanding of the on-the-ground realities accompanying large land acquisition. In Africa, even though lineage and patronage networks are understood to shape large land acquisition processes and outcomes at the grassroots, analyses of these remain scanty (Bueger & Mireanu 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an attempt to contribute to the literature on the ‘politics from below’ when land is lost (Hall et al . 2015; Moreda 2017), this study focuses on how patronage networks and lineage intersect with one another to produce disproportionate outcomes amongst communities who largely depend on land and forest resources for livelihoods. It shows how large land transactions by corporate entities re-entrench existing asymmetrical power relationships amongst community actors by virtue of their ‘place of ancestral origin’.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate land acquisitions at the intersection of lineage and patronage networks in Cameroon

2021

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Despite the proliferation of literature on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in Africa, few empirical studies exist on how patronage networks combine with socio-cultural stratification to determine the livelihood outcomes for African agrarian-based communities. This article draws from ethnographic research on Cameroon to contribute to bridging this gap. We argue that lineage and patronage considerations intersect to determine beneficiaries and losers during LSLA. Second, we show that LSLA tend to re-entrench existing inequalities in power relations that exist within communities in favour of people with traceable ancestral lineage. Concomitantly, non-indigenous groups especially migrants, bear the brunt of exclusion and are unfortunately exposed to severe livelihood stresses due to their inability to leverage patronage networks and political power to defend their interests. We submit that empirical examination of the impacts of land acquisitions should consider the centrality of power and patronage networks between indigenes and non-indigenes, and how this socio-cultural dichotomy restricts and/or mediates land acquisition outcomes in Cameroon.

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“…States foster a relationship with transnational firms through the 'simplification of land rights,' that reduce land protections and increase the opportunities for firms to profit from the extraction of natural resources (Borras Jr and Franco 2012, Svampa 2012. This mutually beneficial relationship between the state and transnational corporations, which has very few added benefits to politically and economically vulnerable rural laborers, transforms the exploitation of land resources and land tenure in developing and emergent nations (Bebbington 2010, Bebbington and Humphreys Bebbington 2011, Borras Jr and Franco 2012, Hall, et al 2015. Such transformations to land and labor impact the tenure and landscape of public and environmental policies -including urbanization, land tenure, resettlement, migration, and repeasantization (Peters 2013, Kansanga, et al 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Smallholding For Whom?’

Snashall¹

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Wage inequality and land and labor insecurity are prevalent in Indonesia's small-farm sector for palm oil. Palm oil contract farming, a pre-harvest agreement between palm oil farmers and transnational processors and traders, facilitates smallholder participation in global agrocommodities markets, improves smallholder livelihoods, and promotes local economic development. This thesis explores how contract farming agreements between smallholder farmers of palm oil and transnational palm oil traders impact the long-term economic development of smallholder palm oil farming in Indonesia. I use linear regression and non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) of annual financial data (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019) from Indonesian commodities trading firms to examine the relative impact of transnational palm oil corporations on smallholder assets in the Indonesian palm oil industry. Temporal trends indicate that oligopolistic market conditions are associated with a growing comparative advantage in palm oil, accumulated land resources by transnational firms, and firm revenues. Linear regression models suggest that the comparative advantage in Indonesian palm oil is driven by state-oriented policies that benefit transnational capitalists and disadvantage smallholder farmers. Finally, nMDS plots revealed that smallholder farmers were inefficiently used by firms to produce palm oil, but also that smallholder assets were a significant driver to firm revenue growth. These results suggest the negative effects of palm oil contract farming on land and labor security, as well as on land tenure and sustainable agriculture. The paper concludes that a system of inequitable contract farming is operating in the palm oil industry where smallholder palm oil farmers are trapped by transnational firms into socio-economic farming schemes of low oil yield and non-market activity that provide palm oil firms with substantial non-market value services. Large transnational firms are thereby implicated in the long-run commodification of smallholder land for marginal fruit production while exploiting a farmer's non-market advantages.

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Resistance, acquiescence or incorporation? An introduction to land grabbing and political reactions ‘from below’

Cited by 42 publications

References 0 publications

Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

Legal Mobilization in Large-Scale Land Deals

Corporate land acquisitions at the intersection of lineage and patronage networks in Cameroon

‘Smallholding For Whom?’

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