• LOGIN
Repository logo

BORIS Portal

Bern Open Repository and Information System

  • Publication
  • Projects
  • Funding
  • Research Data
  • Organizations
  • Researchers
  • LOGIN
Repository logo
Unibern.ch
  1. Home
  2. Publications
  3. Land Grabbing, the State and Chiefs: The Politics of Extending Commercial Agriculture in Ghana
 

Land Grabbing, the State and Chiefs: The Politics of Extending Commercial Agriculture in Ghana

Options
  • Details
BORIS DOI
10.7892/boris.121268
Date of Publication
2018
Publication Type
Article
Division/Institute

Geographisches Instit...

Institut für Sozialan...

Author
Lanz, Kristina Verena
Geographisches Institut, Humangeographie
Geographisches Institut der Universität Bern (GIUB)
Gerber, Jean-Davidorcid-logo
Geographisches Institut, Humangeographie
Haller, Tobias
Institut für Sozialanthropologie
Subject(s)

300 - Social sciences...

700 - Arts::710 - Lan...

300 - Social sciences...

900 - History::910 - ...

Series
Development and Change
ISSN or ISBN (if monograph)
1467-7660
Publisher
Wiley
Language
English
Publisher DOI
10.1111/dech.12429
Description
Since 2006, Ghana has experienced a wave of large-scale land acquisitions
(LSLAs) for agricultural purposes. Although these acquisitions are enabled
by favourable agricultural and investment policies, investors nevertheless
generally negotiate directly with traditional authorities, often bypassing state
authorities in the acquisition process. The strength of customary authorities
is often attributed to the weakness of the state. Considering historical political
precedents, this article argues that chiefs in fact increasingly derive their
power and legitimacy from state and donor policy. Chiefs play a crucial role
in translating the (inter)national investment and development logic into local
customary settings which are characterized by complex and overlapping use
rights to land and natural resources. Using data from an LSLA in Ghana’s
Volta Region, this study shows how chiefs continuously redefine and adapt
the customary land tenure system and its intricate governance logic to the
globalized neoliberal policy setting, readily switching between different institutional
settings (institution shopping) to legitimize their actions. Those
whose rights under customary tenure are least secure are most likely to lose
out in the process of institutional change from common to private property,
while those with close connections to the customary elite are most likely to
benefit from LSLAs.
Related URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12429
Handle
https://boris-portal.unibe.ch/handle/20.500.12422/200283
Show full item
File(s)
FileFile TypeFormatSizeLicensePublisher/Copright statementContent
Lanz_et_al-2018-Development_and_Change.pdftextAdobe PDF372.83 KBpublisherpublished restricted
BORIS Portal
Bern Open Repository and Information System
Build: 360c85 [14.04. 8:05]
Explore
  • Projects
  • Funding
  • Publications
  • Research Data
  • Organizations
  • Researchers
More
  • About BORIS Portal
  • Send Feedback
  • Cookie settings
  • Service Policy
Follow us on
  • Mastodon
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
UniBe logo