About the Book

Across Africa land is being commodified: private ownership is replacing communal and customary tenure; Farms are turned into collateral for rural credit markets.

Law reform is at the heart of this revolution. The Politics of Land Reform in Africa casts a critical spotlight on this profound change in African land economy. The book illuminates the key role of legislators, legal consultants and academics in tenure reform. These players exert their influence by translating the economic and regulatory interests of the World Bank, civil society groups and commercial lenders in to questions of law. Drawing on political economy and actor-network theory The Politics of Land Reform in Africa is an indispensable contribution to the study of agrarian change in developing countries.

Commendations

‘A rigorous analysis of the evolution of Africa’s key land questions. Its unique contribution is to systematically outline the manner in which law has been instrumentalised in ways, which favour capital and elites to the disadvantage of poor Africans. Few scholars have exposed the inner workings of land law formation and its effects on the landless and land-short as this book does.’ - Professor Sam Moyo, African Institute for Agrarian Studies

‘In this remarkable book Ambreena Manji demystifies the new land tenure laws drafted by international consultants sponsored by International Financial Institutions. She shows that land law reform is essentially a terrain of political and economic struggle which remains unfinished business as a new actor - movements of the rural poor - emerges on the scene.‘ - Professor Issa Shivji, University of Dar es Salaam

'An insightful analysis of the logic and agencies governing land reform in Africa in the age of neoliberal globalization...Manji must be commended for alerting us to the fact that proposed land reforms will undermine the livelihood of the African people, strengthen patriarchal relations, and intensify violence against women.' - Silvia Federici, African Studies Review

'As a hypothesis, this interesting and should be taken seriously.' - Quarterly Journal of International Agricultural

'A broad commentary'
'Insightful for anyone interested in this topic.' – CHOICE

Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Impetus for Land Reform
3. Paying for Law: The World Bank and Bilateral Donors
4. Making Law: Inside the Law Lab
5. Contesting Law? The Role of Gender Progressive Groups
6. Using Law: Commercial Lenders and the African Judiciary
7. Conclusions

About the Author

Ambreena Manji is a Reader in the Department of Law, University of Keele. Prior to that, she taught law and development at the School of Law, University of Warwick. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. She has written extensively on land reform, gender and development, and the role of international financial institutions.

Academic Adoption Information

This book is used for teaching at the following institutions:

Manchester Mepropolitan University