Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Political Stability, Property Rights, and State-Building in Africa

政治学博士论文研究：非洲的政治稳定、财产权和国家建设

• 批准号: 1323852
• 负责人: Nicolas Van de Walle
• 金额: $ 1.76万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-02-01 至 2015-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1323852&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Political; Science

This award satisfies Division B, Title V, Sec. 543 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-6, enacted on March 26, 2013).The project addresses property rights in developing countries, an issue critical to political stability. High demand for agricultural land in international and domestic markets is a critical national security issue as property rights disputes could lead to conflict. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where less than 10% of the land has formal state land title, customary authorities (CAs) maintain a great deal of power in the allocation of rural land. The rapid increase in large-scale land acquisition is replacing customary forms of property rights with state-backed property rights, creating the potential for conflict. The expansion of state authority over land has been contentious, with protests over "land grabs" and violent state-backed expulsions of small-scale farmers that threaten political stability. In response to increased demand from investors for customary land, some CAs comply with state requests for land while others challenge the state and claim the right to control community resources. To contribute to the analysis of contemporary relations between customary authorities and the state, this research seeks to explain why, when, and how CAs resist or participate in the state's attempts to move land from customary to state control to support agricultural investment. The intellectual merit of the proposal is associated with the advancement of knowledge about the relationship between formal and informal governance, the collection of data across multiple contexts and the development of a geo-coded dataset. To analyze this political phenomenon across contexts within Africa, the research will be conducted in three representative forms of customary authority systems: in Western Senegal, Eastern Senegal, and Central Zambia. An original geo-coded dataset of land transfers and customary authorities in Zambia and Senegal will be built, analyzed, and shared to contribute new insight into the process of consolidating state authority. This research revises existing scholarship on political authority in African by demonstrating how CAs shape the outcomes of state attempts to consolidate power over territory. It demonstrates that the internal constraints of the customary institution condition how the CA responds to state encroachment of control over land allocation.The broader impacts of the proposal are related to its insights about factors affecting the potential for violent conflict and political instability. Further, this study informs how and when the conversions from small-scale to large-scale agriculture are contentious, contributing to our ability to promote long-term political stability in the developing world. Potentially volatile political situations and conflicts over land can be avoided through better representation of the needs of local populations in this land-use transition. Customary authorities are central actors in mediating this process. This research will contribute to our understanding of best-practices for American investments active in African land markets and for promoting political stability in the region. This research will be shared through publicly available data, academic conferences and journal publications, policy and inter-disciplinary academic networks such as the Land Deal Politics Initiative, presentations at my host research institutions in Zambia and Senegal, and a book.

该奖项满足司B，标题五，第。2013年综合和进一步持续拨款法案（P.L.）113-6，2013年3月26日颁布）。该项目解决发展中国家的财产权问题，这是一个对政治稳定至关重要的问题。国际和国内市场对农业用地的高需求是一个关键的国家安全问题，因为产权纠纷可能导致冲突。在撒哈拉以南非洲，只有不到10%的土地拥有正式的国家土地所有权，传统当局（CA）在农村土地的分配方面拥有很大的权力。大规模土地征用的迅速增加正在用国家支持的产权取代传统形式的产权，从而产生了冲突的可能性。国家对土地权力的扩张一直存在争议，抗议“土地掠夺”和国家支持的暴力驱逐小规模农民威胁到政治稳定。为了应对投资者对传统土地的需求增加，一些CA遵守国家对土地的要求，而另一些CA则挑战国家并要求控制社区资源的权利。为了有助于分析当代习惯当局和国家之间的关系，本研究试图解释为什么，何时，以及如何CA抵制或参与国家的企图将土地从习惯到国家控制，以支持农业投资。该提案的知识价值在于增进了对正式和非正式治理之间关系的了解，收集了多种背景下的数据，并开发了地理编码数据集。为了分析这种政治现象在非洲的背景下，研究将在三个有代表性的形式的习惯权威系统进行：在塞内加尔西部，塞内加尔东部和赞比亚中部。将建立、分析和分享赞比亚和塞内加尔的土地转让和习惯当局的原始地理编码数据集，为巩固国家权力的进程提供新的见解。本研究通过展示CA如何塑造国家试图巩固领土权力的结果，修改了非洲政治权威的现有奖学金。它表明，习惯制度的内部约束条件CA如何应对国家侵占控制土地allocation.The更广泛的影响的建议是有关其影响因素的洞察力的潜在暴力冲突和政治不稳定。此外，这项研究还说明了如何以及何时从小规模农业向大规模农业转变是有争议的，有助于我们促进发展中国家长期政治稳定的能力。通过在这一土地使用过渡中更好地代表当地居民的需要，可以避免潜在的动荡政治局势和土地冲突。习惯当局是调解这一进程的核心行为者。这项研究将有助于我们了解美国在非洲土地市场积极投资的最佳做法，并促进该地区的政治稳定。这项研究将通过公开数据、学术会议和期刊出版物、政策和跨学科学术网络（如土地交易政治倡议）、在我在赞比亚和塞内加尔的东道国研究机构的演讲以及一本书来分享。