Publication
Title
Competing claims over access to land in Rwanda: Legal pluralism, power and subjectivities
Author
Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa claims over access to land are often studied from the perspective of legal pluralism. This approach allows us to comprehend how, in pluralistic and post-colonial contexts, access to land is governed by interacting and competing normative frameworks, and by power relations legitimising some of those frameworks over others. But which power relations are we referring to? Through the analysis of a case of marshland grabbing in Rwanda, this paper first introduces different concepts from legal anthropology (arena, forum shopping and shopping forums, semi-autonomous social fields, practical norms and institutional bricolage) to analyse claims around land with a legal pluralism approach. Then, the paper points to the limitations of an actor-oriented approach to power relations proposed by the legal pluralism literature in terms of claims over access to land. Finally, we explore how a subjectivist approach to power, focussing on the ways people's desires are influenced without them being fully aware of it, can enrich our understanding of claims over land access.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Geoforum. - London
Publication
London : 2020
ISSN
0016-7185
DOI
10.1016/J.GEOFORUM.2019.04.015
Volume/pages
109 (2020) , p. 115-124
ISI
000518703600014
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 06.04.2020
Last edited 14.02.2025
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