The drama of the grabbed commons: anti-politics machine and local responses
Publisher DOI
Abstract
This article explores the nexus between old and new commons, antipolitics, and Corporate Social Responsibility measures in the context of on-going land grabbing. Detailed case studies in Ghana, Malawi, Morocco, and Tanzania show that powerful discourses of development, women’s empowerment, and wasteland productivity increase serve as anti-politics machines that hide the fact that winners are few and losers many. Despite differential bargaining power mediated by class, age, lineage, or gender, some actors manage to take advantage of the situation: contrary to the often used tragedy metaphor, we argue that we are faced with an open-ended ‘drama of the commons’ which is still unfolding.
Date Issued
2020-07-02
Publication Type
Article
Language(s)
en
Journal
The journal of peasant studies
Publisher
Routledge
ISSN
1743-9361
Access(Rights)
restricted