Trophy lands: why elites acquire land and why it matters

Abstract

This article explores the motivations, and some of the consequences, of concentrated land holdings among elites. Within the characterisation of land deals as rentseeking behaviour, three inducements (power, prestige and option value) are found to motivate elites in both the Global North and South. Among the many social and environmental costs of land concentration, two are highlighted here: the privatisation of social property and the profligate use of labour. The article concludes with a call to reframe land reform in terms of land sovereignty, as a means of countering land concentration and the rent-seeking behaviours that animate it.RÉSUMÉ Cet article se penche sur les raisons, et certaines des conséquences, de la concentration des grandes propriétés foncières dans les mains des élites. En caractérisant les transactions foncières comme une recherche de rente apparaissent trois facteurs qui motivent les élites du Nord comme du Sud, soit le pouvoir, le prestige et la valeur d'option. Parmi les nombreux coûts sociaux et environnementaux de la concentration des terres, deux ressortent : la privatisation de la propriété collective et la prodigalité dans l'utilisation de la main d'oeuvre. L'article propose de recadrer les réformes foncières sous l'angle de la souveraineté foncière afin de contrer la concentration des terres et la recherche de rente qui la stimule.

Land Grabbing in Europe? Socio-Cultural Externalities of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in East Germany

“…If land grabbing means land concentration that has negative side-effects for rural society, the extent of this connection before LSLA occurs is important to examine. This was suggested by previous studies [13,15,113] with a critical view towards the motivation of large-scale investors. The skepticism against land acquisitions may even stem from a nationalistic tendency with prejudice towards foreigners [114,115].…”

“…Furthermore, the interviewed farmers are fond of their lifestyle and regard the availability of acquiring or leasing land as the basis for their enterprise. Studies about land grabbing suggest, that large investors do not seek a certain rural lifestyle, but security for capital investments [47,49,113]. Geisler [113] even calls these trophy lands.…”

After the Incubator: Factors Impeding Land Access Along the Path from Farmworker to Proprietor

“…This lens also allows us to focus empirically on the "range of powersembodied in and exercised through various mechanisms, processes, and social relations-that affect people's ability to benefit from resources" (Ribot & Peluso, 2003, p. 154). A focus on social mechanisms can also demonstrate, for example, how the wielding of legal authority can be linked to farmland consolidation through systems of social exclusion, thereby continuing to devalue farm labor through predatory contract arrangements (Geisler, 2015). In the following sections, we explain how we researched specific factors mediating farmland access for the farmers in our study.…”

A view from the top: examining elites in large-scale land deals

“…Focusing on specific land deals, we see messy local alliances between corporate actors, national elites and governments (Hall 2011;see also Hopma 2015;Geisler 2015). In an analysis of land grabs in southern Africa, Hall (2011) notes the multitude of business arrangements emerging around changes in land control, premised on mutually dependent relationships between corporations and state actors.…”

“…Most benefits contained in the rights that make up property can be attained through renting and leasing, especially when the latter is long term and renewable, without the encumbering liabilities of full ownership (Geisler 2015). This is a powerful motivation in itself: access to land and resources with reduced risk.…”