Dr Chris Alden, Dr Sue Onslow (chair), Professor Deborah James (discussant)
12 October 2010, 6.45pm, COL.B212
Dr. Alden's presentation focused on the volatile question of land and democracy in Southern Africa. In particular, it examined how the past - in the form of the established political economy of settler colonialism, the role of liberation politics and the enduring impact of the transition to democracy - has continued to condition the present day and shaping the politics of land across the region. Based on his newly published book 'Land, Liberation and Compromise in Southern Africa', Dr Alden analysed why the politics of land represents a challenge to both the hard fought gains of liberation and democracy within the region itself.
Blog Post: Land, Liberation and Compromise in Southern Africa by Dr Chris Alden. 'On the eve of the crisis in Zimbabwe, one that was to inexorably pull its neighbours into a regional reconsideration of the politics of land...'
Book Page: Land, Liberation and Compromise in Southern Africa by Chris Alden and Ward Anseeuw, published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Speakers
Dr Chris Alden is a Reader in International Relations at the LSE. He has conducted extensive field work across the Southern Africa region both on this topic and other areas. He has published widely on international poltiics and conflict in Southern Africa as well as work on Asia-Africa relations.
Professor Deborah James is a specialist in the anthropology of South and Southern Africa, where much of her fieldwork has been conducted in Mpumalanga and Northern Provinces and their urban hinterland, the Witwatersrand. Her book 'Gaining Ground? "Rights" and "Property" in South African land reform' discusses debates about the ownership, use, and governance of land.
Location
B212 LSE IDEAS Conference Room, London School of Economics. Map.