Conference on Land Policy in Africa opens with calls for pro-poor land policies;equal access;and ownership

Writers have guest-edited an African Studies Review forum on Understanding Land Deals in Limbo in Africa which examines the contentious politics of incomplete land grabs in Senegal;Tanzania and Zambia. These studies show that even when land deals are cancelled;stalled;downsized;transferred to new owners;or stay dormant and speculative for many years;they can still produce far-reaching consequences that often go unnoticed. The complex interplay of land governance;local political dynamics and capital’s own contradictions can push land deals in different and unexpected directions. These inconclusive land deals can still severely limit people’s land access and livelihoods;perpetuate fear of dispossession;and intensify local conflicts. In some cases;they can lead to international arbitration processes between states and foreign investors which seldom serve the interests of rural communities.