Changing African land tenure: Reflections on the incapacities of the state

Abstract

State legislation and international development agencies may envision grand programmes revising African systems of land tenure, but local pressures and competitive struggles actually determine many of the terms and conditions of African land holding. This contribution shows how such programmes can be frustrated by the strategies of individuals. It shows that actions on the small scale can cumulatively demolish state policy without the individuals involved ever being collectively mobilised in movements of resistance. Though claims to land in Africa can be translated into human rights terms, this analysis proposes that if human rights discourse omits the political and practical aspects of implementation, it is not very useful.