Process and Structure on the Land Question in Africa: Some theoretical issues

In the 1990s there has been a considerable development in the theories of land tenure and the land question in Sub-Saharan Africa both in economics and political economy. This paper focuses on political economy which emphasises power relations as central to one´s access to land. There are two approaches within political economy, i.e. the processualist and the structuralist. The former emphasises individuals´ capability of negotiation, whereas the latter considers democratisation as a necessary step for a resolution of the land question. This paper attempts to reconcile the two approaches by extending the notion of negotiation to collective negotiation. In this context, this paper also discusses the issues of 'civil society' , 'capability' and 'democratisation', and their relevance to an analysis of and resolution to the land question.

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