Doctoral Dissertation Research: Community Factors, Negotiation Processes and Land Acquisitions

SES-1434965罗伯特MazurJuliana Nnoko-Mewanu，爱荷华州州立大学在过去的十年中，全球大规模农业土地投资的速度和规模呈指数级增长。 从社会和生态的角度来看，这些投资伴随着机遇和风险。地方参与土地权转让管理和决策的质量对于促进有益和可持续的社区影响至关重要。这项研究审查了代表不同利益的决策过程的关键要素，涉及谈判和妥协，从而为所有利益攸关方带来有益的结果。核心研究问题是社区结构、能力和关系的变化如何影响土地使用权转让谈判。 主要研究目标是：确定与土地谈判有关的主要社会层面-社交网络和知识，并评估它们如何影响谈判进程;确定土地谈判进程在多大程度上反映了权力下放治理的新兴空间内的权力差异;确定与更大程度地维持资源获取有关的社会层面和权力关系。本研究以权力理论的基本前提为框架，研究权力机制如何影响地方机构的决策。权力理论与获取分析相结合，以描绘获取资源的动态过程和关系，促进分析谁实际受益以及他们能够通过哪些过程受益。研究人员将完成对谈判过程的比较分析，以研究出口农业土地收购中主要利益攸关方之间的利益和互动模式。这项研究将研究喀麦隆西南部恩迪安省和库佩-穆阿嫩古巴省的赫拉克勒斯农场的情况。主要利益攸关方包括政府、企业、农民、非农民、研究人员和民间社会组织。调查将在喀麦隆西南部的一个森林地区进行，目标村庄目前正在谈判一项重大的土地交易。 所采用的方法包括访谈、焦点小组讨论、参与者观察、网络图和内容分析。那些村庄的受访者将根据性别、年龄和生计状况采用分层随机配额抽样方法进行选择。访谈将辅以样带行走和网络制图，以了解生计、土地的重要性、社区内的社交网络和权力动态。二手数据来源，2009-2014年的报纸文章，文件，地图，政府机构批准的土地交易清单记录，研究结果有可能为出口农业土地收购谈判过程的社会背景提供新的见解，并有助于更广泛地理解成功的谈判流程. 这项研究将有助于更好地了解代表不同利益的决策进程、谈判和妥协所涉及的关键因素，从而为所有利益攸关方带来有益的结果。

SES-1434965Robert MazurJuliana Nnoko-Mewanu, Iowa State UniversityDuring the past decade, there has been an exponential increase in the rate and scale of large-scale agricultural land investments globally. These investments are accompanied by opportunities and risks from a social and ecological point of view. The quality of local participation in the management and decision-making on the transfer of land rights is vital in fostering beneficial and sustainable community impacts. This research examines key elements of decision-making processes that represent diverse interests and involve negotiations and compromise resulting in beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders. The central research question asks how do variations in community structures, capabilities and relationships shape negotiations to transfer land use rights. The main research objectives are to: identify key social dimensions - social networks and knowledge - associated with land negotiations, and assess how they affect negotiation processes; determine the extent to which land negotiation processes reflect differences in power within emerging spaces for decentralized governance; and identify the social dimensions and power relations that are associated with a greater degree of resource access maintenance. The research uses basic premises in power theory as a framework to study how power mechanisms influence decision-making within local institutions. Power theory is combined with access analysis to map dynamic processes and relationships of access to resources, facilitating analysis of who actually benefits and through which processes they are able to do so. The researcher will complete a comparative analysis of negotiation processes to study the interests and patterns of interaction among key stakeholders in land acquisition for export agriculture. The research will study the case of the Herakles Farms in Ndian and Kupe-Muanenguba divisions in Southwestern Cameroon. Primary stakeholders include government, business, farmers, non-farmers, researchers and civil society organizations. The investigation will take place in a forested area of southwestern Cameroon in targeted villages that are currently negotiating a major land transaction. The methods used include interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, Net-Mapping and content analysis. Interviewees in the villages will be selected using stratified random quota sampling based on gender, age, and livelihood status. Interviews will be complemented by transect walks and Net-Mapping to understand livelihoods, perceived importance of the land, social networks and power dynamics within the communities. Secondary data sources, newspaper articles from 2009-2014, documents, maps, records on inventories of approved land deals from government agencies, will be used to build the contextual framework of the project.Research results have the potential to provide new insights regarding the social context of negotiation processes for land acquisition for export agriculture as well as contribute to a broader understanding of successful negotiation processes. The research will contribute to a better understanding of the key elements involved in decision-making processes that represent diverse interests, negotiations and compromise that produce beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders.