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This article explores the situation of increasing land scarcity in Murang'a District, Kenya. Mackenzie shows that the strategies of access and control of laws concerning land -customary law and statutory law- are responsible for the increase in gender and social differentiation.

While patrilineal practices of succession enable men to keep control over land through generations, women’s control over land on the other hand, is considered as ‘‘an explicit and immediate threat to the balance of power within households’’ (635).

From the ‘agrarian reform’ in the 1950s, women’s labour has been subjected to more and more control as the new production of coffee and tea has been progressively directed to the market. Mackenzie argues that women choose to sell their labour as groups, following the customary practice ngwatio as a means to resist the ‘double subsidy’ (637) imposed by male heads of households and the commodity capital.

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I enjoyed the Galaty reading especially the 'local construction' (113) that is placed on the events. The reinterpreting of an event is interesting because it can explain events, and how they can be explained within a community.

I feel there were social tensions explored within the reading between the 'locally powerful and the high Kenyan politics' (113). This is an interesting concept to explore the power dynamics between social groups and the impact this can have on events and conflicts.

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At the end of the paper, Abbink mentions that the site of the Gewata wetlands did not end up becoming ownership of a Saudi investor through the help of UNESCO (which recognised the site as “biosphere reserve”), 525. However, the next sentence and last one of the paragraph: “it will now probably be developed for tourism”. I was somehow troubled by this last sentence; I understand that tourism is not going to be as detrimental as the food crops production as was previously intended. However, isn’t tourism still a form of selling the site to non-locals, thus taking it away from the people who inhabit it/ feel an attachment to it? I would have liked a further discussion on this, as arguably tourism belongs to the nuanced spectrum of LSLAs.

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Galaty stresses on ‘the global forces’ as ‘the local faces’ in the discussion on conflict in Ewuaso. In other words, the global hegemony of joining nation and state can be seen in the sub-ethnic administrative locality. According to Galaty, “the assumption held by a congeries of chiefs, subchiefs, councillors, mayors, local businessmen and politicians from Kajiado District, in which Keekonyokie division lies, that they above all deserve the fruits of "development," is surely what class formation is all about.” (115)

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This paper speaks about the negative impact of the modern-day scramble for Africa by foriegn investors in Ethiopia.

After reading this paper my key question is, why is it believed that to end hunger, foreign aid must be donated by governments? Surely the most effective ways to prevent further problems of food scarcity in Ethiopia, are to end intensive farming by foreign investors on Ethiopian land, and work on slowing down the effects of climate change.

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This article focuses on refugee communities in northern Uganda that had to leave their homes due to conflict that broke out between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). After two decades, people started to return to their homes; the elder generation knowing what peace and harmony had been like, their children having grown up in refugee camps, having different experiences. When the returning refugees sought to reestablish their homes, an issue of land property rights arose. Titled deeds were barely written at the time of refuge and clan leaders with the knowledge of what land belonged to whom, were often displaced too.

Another issue the author mentions is about the ‘identification of the dual nature of children during complex emergencies as both victims and agents” (Joireman 2018: 81). They were victims in a sense that elder relatives would exploit minor orphans’ lack of knowledge when it came to property rights and take land that belonged to the minors. They were agents in a sense that many of the youth returning to northern Uganda claimed land as theirs and attempted to sell it, transitioning from “traditional” tenure systems into “modern”, formalised ones.

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As Nour points out that
"Mackenzie argues that women choose to sell their labour as groups, following the customary practice ngwatio as a means to resist the ‘double subsidy’ (637) imposed by male heads of households and the commodity capital.” And for Mackenzie, the relationship between the two systems of land tenure is defined not by 'structural' articulation, but as an arena of struggle.

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This was a very insightful piece demonstrating the effects of handing out large tracts of land to foreign companies for commercial farming in attempt to enhance national development in Ethiopia. I was particularly drawn to the social and cultural impacts and how locals responded to it. The piece emphasises the importance of national territory ‘the motherland’ and explains that controversy is rampant; ‘there’s a growing perception in Ethiopia that national territory  ‘the motherland’  and culturally and socially significant locations are being given away, threatening people’s ‘social capital’ and the ethno-cultural identities of local groups, often tied to land or territory.’ (526) Amongst locals there are general fears of cultural loss De Schutter (2009, 274) notes, that the commodification of land has gone to the extreme, and the cultural significance of land is forgotten. (524) In discussion of land ownership and the implantation of foreigners many local people felt overwhelmed and outnumbered; its upsetting to hear how ‘The voice of the local people who dwell on the land or extensively use it is seldom heard and not deemed relevant.’ (525)

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In response to the reactions above:

I enjoyed this reading similar to what others have said in regards to the reading.

I believe the article made a good explanation how 'land grabbing' (514) in the field was produced, and how I feel it explained why the land is 'grab[bed]' (518) for the benefit of the government and country in terms of economic gain, not for the benefit for the people who live in that community, and so, are most affected by the change.

I feel this is an important issue and conflict to explore, and I appreciate Abbink's attempt to analyse this conflict and explore the social relations between the groups of people

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This reading made me think about the colonial period and what we deem to be colonial practices. In a sense, it could be argued that colonialism has not really ended and colonial practices continue today in the form of land grabbing. However, it might also be too oversimplified to refer to land grabbing as colonialism, when it involves specific dynamics and players. Either way it is interesting to think about what we think of as colonial or not

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Response to Paulina's post:

I found this 'dual identity' of the children interesting as well; this makes me think about the pressure that is put on the children to do tasks that could be considered as adult (81), and at the same time the pressure of being one of the means for transforming the tenure system from 'traditional' to 'formalised' .

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In this reading there is an exploration of the many points of contention that arise in the distribution of land in Kenya between various tribes. When reading the article it interested me to read that the justification of violence was “defensive for the ingresss of his herd into Mosiro locality” (113) as it shows that the value placed on land can lead to legitimised violence. But overall I struggled to grasp the main point of this reading as a whole.

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This article gives emphasis to how the definition and social place of ‘children’ under customary law can contribute to land conflicts and how the interests of a younger generation come into conflict with tradition and patterns of customary land allocation(81). I found the section explaining children’s property rights under customary and statute law in Uganda particularly interesting; this article clearly demonstrates that children's land rights is a complex, under-studied area, it explains that Ugandan statute law includes some progressive/promising but also constraining features for the defence of the rights of children to inheritance of land. ‘While it is progressive in recognizing the special needs of children – and of orphans in particular – it raised uncertainties regarding the property rights of those holding their lands on a customary basis.’ (82)

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I, too, found this reading very thought provoking, as it forced me to consider the negative impact the world has had on Africa through ‘land grabbing’. It also emphasises to me that the stereotype of the poverty in Africa is a forced, constructed narrative, used to degrade one of the most naturally affluent continents in the world, as if it is not the place that, in fact, causes others to become rich through the extrapolation of its resources. Again, this just shows how the possession of land itself can be viewed as one of the most vital forms of currency.

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This article talks about clashes and conflicts around claims to land in southern Kenya. It gives a lot of detail about several conflicts between tribes and lang rights, however I found it challenging to understand fully what the author’s argument was. In the conclusion, he says that the conflicts that take place in the region are “overtly violent acts of resistance, not only to local land grabbers wielding micro-ethnic justification, but, in a more global framework, to the consolidation of a landed class and to the realisation of global liberalism in a postcolonial world” (Galaty 1997:  117). I wish the author would have expanded on this point a bit more.

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This paper brilliantly situates the phenomena of local land struggles amongst the Maasai within a global framework. I found it  interesting when Galaty stated that the local Maasai face the threat of dispossession by outsiders and powerful individuals, who lay claim and appropriate their land "through machinations beyond their control and comprehension" (115). This  demonstrates a conflict between two cultures, where one has an immense amount of power over the other. The hegemonic neoliberal capitalist "culture" and all its particularities - which the Maasai are not familiar with - has the power to displace the Maasai, through its own logic of privatization and individualism, without consideration of Maasai culture and customary law. When understood this way, one may draw links between this phenomenon and imperial logics.

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In response to Olivia:

I believe that it is completely justified to draw a link between the phenomenon of land grabbing and colonialism or colonial logic. There is a plethora of similarities in the power dynamics involved; the power of the state (even if it is not a colonial state) to create a discourse on land and use it for whatever purposes they deem necessary, the power of neoliberal capitalist ideology over local socio-cultural beliefs on land, land exploitation, and the further marginalization of less dominant populations etc. Abbink interestingly concludes that "the LSLA process in Ethiopia is an example of the curious global alliance of international capitalist enterprise and undemocratic governance in countries with land resources" (528) and that LSLA's often subvert the rule of law, democratic governance and human rights (528). This raises the question, "to what extent are colonial logics embedded in the international capitalist enterprise in relation to large appropriations such as LSLA's"?

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In response to Sophie, I too was wondering why increased foreign aid is the answer to end hunger, and I agree with her statement that we need to end this new scramble for Africa and reduce foreign investors’ use of farming land to assist locals and slow climate change. 
	Furthermore, increased foreign investment simply boosts and supports bad governance, abandoning the local majority and abusing their rights. Moreover, Abbink talks about the economic benefits for workers due to foreign investment and notes the gendered difference it produces! Therefore, losing rights over lands not only limits food production but job production and can therefore lead to extreme poverty and an eventual revolt against the government. Therefore bringing it back full circle: to what extent should these governments continue relying on foreign aid to secure food shortages? 

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In response to Olivia,
I find your point interesting, about whether land grabbing practices count as a form of neo-colonialism or not. However, it seems difficult to argue that land grabbing is something other than a replication of colonial practices.
For instance, in this reading it becomes clear that intensive farming and land grabbing are practices which ‘privilege foreigners over locals’ (514), and therefore, it can be argued, that they replicate the power relations of colonial times.

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Joireman discusses how conflict and forced displacement have affected the mechanism of land/property rights both in customary and statutory law settings. In terms of 'post-conflict community reconstruction,' the article takes note of children, especially orphaned children, vulnerability. In claims of 'land rights' and how forced migration and regional conflicts, with their overall effects on displaced communities, make the children's case special, as they have to most likely rely on community elders' word within the customary settings than written records. However, through their customary or formal claim to the land, the article addresses how children may perform agency. Joireman also considers the amendments to the constitution and how the state's stress on formalizing customary land ownership impacts the communities, specifically those displaced in the past, in the northern Ugandan context.

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I found a report by John Vidal (2011) on land grabbing in Ethiopia's  remote Gambella region fascinating. The Ethiopian government displaces people in Gambella region by promising them that the dislocation will earn them a better life.  Foreign "investors are pouring in to exploit land the government has cleared of people".  This project is expected to increase food export which would enable Ethiopia without considering the negative impacts it causes on the local people and the environmental impacts. In fact, this agricultural project pays the employees less a dollar a day and the government is not providing a good life it promises to the displaced people. Moreover, some locals are killed if they speak against the government which clearly shows that the government chooses to disregard the welfare of its local people. I found this common in most African countries where land grabbing is prominent. The claimed projects mainly benefit a handful elites and not the local population.

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In response to Olivia, Bela & Sophie

In this article, Abbink shows how large-scale land acquisitions that are viewed as ‘development’ opportunities, jeopardise the environment, the livelihoods and the security of local inhabitants and land users.

I agree that the practices of foreign firms, -in connivance with local governments that do not consider the needs and aspirations of its citizens- present characteristics of ‘‘neo-colonialism’’ (526). In fact, these practices include ‘‘tax holidays, easy production conditions, lack of environmental rule enforcement, low wages, low or often total lack of compensation for displaced people and cheap land lease rates for the foreigners’’ (536). According to Abbink, foreign land grabbing in Africa is linked to the future needs of foreign powers for fuel and food production.

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“They feel anxiety in the face of an unprecedented sell-out that not only has an economic-environmental impact but also a socio-cultural and psychological one; the local producers perceive that they are unwanted on the land which they thought was their own and denied a say in their destiny” (p. 529). Under this neo-colonialist exploitation, the poor are getting poorer, many are being displaced from their land and their voices are going unheard. Meanwhile, the national government connives with wealthy foreign investors on lucrative land acquisition deals particularly for the agricultural industry. This frantic new scramble for Africa is not only generating increased dependence on donor aid but also environmental degradation. It seems that these land grabs are being done in a great hurry without any long-term strategic planning.

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In response to Paulina and Dilay
I too found it quite challenging to grasp Galaty's key arguments surrounding Maasai customary claims and and the long history of corruption and clashes relating to land allocations. In his analysis, Galatly makes links between the local, national and the global and entanglements with power, wealth and class. “To understand the locally real today calls for unravelling the strands of an increasingly pervasive system of world relations and of the cultural premises by which motives and interests are defined and action constrained.” (p.117)

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Personally, I found this article a bit hard to grasp to begin with, however by the end there was a lot of interesting parts to it. What caught my attention foremost was the role of ethnicity in the claiming of land! Galaty, talks about the disputing tribes being from a historically similar origin.  “Here, in the microcosm of a sub-ethnic administrative locality, we can see the more global implications of joining nation and state. Ethnic distributions never quite match the political and administrative structures they define, but rather generate around identities a complex set of social anomalies and paradoxes of ethnic affinity and residence, namely, non-resident nationals (who live elsewhere) and non national residents (seen, justifiably or not, as having come from elsewhere).” (116) 

In an area where violence is considered not and “Never simply acts of force… [but as] practices which have force not despite but because they signify” (113), it is interesting then that these tribes choose so called ‘ethnic differences’ to justify these violent acts over land disputes. 

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In response to Paulina,

I agree with Paulina that it’s difficult to discern the argument here. Dense in its ethnographic accounts of local groups, the article never fully delves into the underlying political tensions. I would have preferred if they provided a less ethnographic more socio-political background on most of the points made. The author states, “in the microcosm of a sub-ethnic administrative locality, we can see the more global implications of joining nation and state” (116). I thought this was an interesting analysis that they should have focused more on.

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Galaty's (1997) case study of the conflict between rivalling Maasai groups at Ewuaso demonstrated how both local dynamics and high politics interplayed in the making of land associated conflict. However, I find that it would be clearer if the author could elaborate on how the mis-matching of ethnic distribution may affect the interpretation. On the other hand, inter-group conflicts among the Maasai reminds me of what I read of from Paul Spenser's monologue pn the Samburu Maasai where he argued about violent raiding against elders as a 'ritual of rebellion'. Could the case Galaty argued here be of the same nature?

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This article focuses on the experiences of people who had been displaced but then returned to their homes following the conflict in Northern Uganda. Joireman writes that “Post-conflict situations present a disruption to the social order, a moment when the path-dependent institutions of authority and resource access can be altered or changed by powerful actors” (87). This is referring to how youth despite being exploited by older people in terms of gaining property rights exercise agency because of the post-conflict setting. They assert their rights by claiming and selling lands. These challenges traditional modes of land inheritance. What has facilitated this change is for example, the death of customary leaders and displacement meaning leaders not having local knowledge of land claims after returning to Northern Uganda.

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In response to Nour's post, land inheritance which in many East African contexts is patrilineal, thus excluding women from inheriting land. While this does connects a wider patriarchal structure of gendered material inequalities. it was interesting to see this dynamic against other avenues of selling labour.

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In response to Tomkin's post, this social tension between social groups in Kenya is a significant consequence to the huge disconnect found in state policies and individuals living within the borders.

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In response to Olivia, Bela and Sophia,
I totally agree with you that modern 'land grabbing' in East Afriac is of colonial/neo-colonial nature. Just to add on, Abbink referred to a forest conservation project as a successful case of resistence to land grabbing. However, elsewhere, 'green colonialism' is largely talked about that conservationists enclosed lands where inhabitants, especially hunter-gatherers whose lives depend so much on the forest, were kicked out and constantly harrassed.