Land Contestation at the Micro Scale: Struggles for Space in the African Marshes

Abstract

Africa is increasingly confronted with the commercialization of its space. Whereas attention mainly goes to macro-scale land grabs, land contestation at the micro scale is largely ignored. This paper analyses how local actors instrumentalize the renegotiation over African wetland rights to call into question the prevailing social order. We illustrate how deficiencies in formal instruments allow elites to capture the momentum of an open moment to reinforce own interests. Our conclusion pleads in favor of a better understanding of political power struggles through which land rights are shaped; and points to the shortcomings of a technocratic approach to land governance.