Land deals, and how not all states react the same: Zambia and the Chinese request

Abstract

ABSTRACT The global land rush has drawn new attention to the African state. Governments have generally been accused of brokering deals that are assumed to negatively affect local people. This framing contributes to an image that all states react in the same way, ignoring that states and customary rulers still covet control over land. By drawing on a Chinese land request for 2 million hectares in Zambia, the article argues that processes of land acquisition are deeply influenced by the shifting politics and policies within the respective country, specifically since a change of government changed the dynamics of the deal.