Revisiting A Theory of Access: A review

Abstract

A Theory of Access (Ribot and Peluso 2003) was published 15 years ago. With almost 1600 publications citing it, the paper is instrumental in expanding scholarly thinking beyond property by exploring notions of power. We reviewed all available literature that cited A Theory of Access to understand its influence on academic literature. We first analyse literature in relation to other frameworks with similar concerns: (1) entitlements framework, (2) sustainable livelihoods approach, (3) powers of exclusion; and subsequently move to a review of how it has been engaged in broader theoretical and conceptual debates in the social sciences: (4) gender, (5) materiality, (6) property and authority, and (7) power. The analysis shows most of the literature interacts with A Theory of Access superficially. Substantial attempts to address A Theory of Access were varied and often used it to develop other social theory rather than to modify A Theory of Access.

keywords:

• Access
• power
• natural resources-environmental sociology

Acknowledgements

This paper was the initiative of the authors and not explicitly funded by any source. Myers developed this paper while working on the ProdJus (Supranational Forest Governance in an Era of Globalising Wood Production and Justice Politics) research project funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust and Volkswagen Stiftung through the Europe and Global Challenges initiative. Hansen while working on the AX (Access and Exclusion along the Charcoal Commodity Chain in Ghana) research project funded by the Danish Development Research Fund under the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (project 14-03 KU). We appreciate the reflections on an early draft of the paper by Christian Lund and Jens Friis Lund, early coding that Anders M. Hallund conducted, some help from Nitya Rao with our reflections on gendered access analysis and feminist approaches, and the superb (and challenging) comments from three anonymous reviewers.