Green grabbing and the contested nature of belonging in Laikipia, Kenya : a genealogy

How and why do political reactions of certain rural groups align or depart from those of others? Findings suggest that in settler societies, aspects of green grabbing (or land grabbing) may be understood as acts of “white belonging.” Likewise, green grabbing presents other groups with opportunities to re-assert other notions of belonging in the landscape through resistance, acquiescence, or incorporation. This dissertation makes green grabbing a subject of ethnographic and historical analysis in Laikipia, Kenya and contextualizes different rural groups’ experiences and reactions to green grabbing, while building the case for ethnographic and historical analyses of land acquisition.