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Defusing Land Disputes? The Politics of Land Certification and Dispute Resolution in Burundi

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  • Rosine Tchatchoua‐Djomo
  • Mathijs van Leeuwen
  • Gemma van der Haar

Abstract

There is a growing interest in localized land registration, in which user rights are acknowledged and recorded through a community‐based procedure, as an alternative to centralized titling to promote secure tenure in sub‐Saharan Africa. Localized land registration is expected to reduce land disputes, yet it remains unclear how it impacts disputes in practice. This is an urgent question for war‐affected settings that experience sensitive land disputes. This article discusses findings from ethnographic fieldwork in Burundi on pilot projects for land certification. It identifies three ways in which certification feeds into land conflicts rather than preventing or resolving them. First, land certification represents a chance for local people to enter a new round of claim making, as those ignored or disenfranchised in earlier rounds see new opportunities. Second, it offers an avenue for institutional competition between different land‐governing institutions. Third, certification provides politicians with openings to interfere in tenure relations and to expand their support base. The authors conclude that these problems are not simply a matter of inadequate policy design. Rather, there are crucial political dimensions to land conflicts and land tenure in Burundi, which means that land registration programmes run the risk of inflaming conflictive property relations in rural communities.

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  • Rosine Tchatchoua‐Djomo & Mathijs van Leeuwen & Gemma van der Haar, 2020. "Defusing Land Disputes? The Politics of Land Certification and Dispute Resolution in Burundi," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(6), pages 1454-1480, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:51:y:2020:i:6:p:1454-1480
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12621
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Holden, Stein & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2008. "Rural Land Certification in Ethiopia: Process, Initial Impact, and Implications for Other African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1786-1812, October.
    2. Deininger, Klaus & Castagnini, Raffaella, 2006. "Incidence and impact of land conflict in Uganda," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 321-345, July.
    3. World Bank, 2014. "Republic of Burundi Fiscal Decentralization and Local Governance," World Bank Publications - Reports 21714, The World Bank Group.
    4. World Bank, 2014. "Republic of Burundi Fiscal Decentralization and Local Governance : Managing Trade-Offs to Promote Sustainable Reforms [République du Burundi - Décentralisation fiscale et gouvernance locale : Gérer," World Bank Publications - Reports 21099, The World Bank Group.
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    Cited by:

    1. Joireman, Sandra F. & Tchatchoua-Djomo, Rosine, 2023. "Post-conflict restitution of customary land: Guidelines and trajectories of change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. James Natia Adam & Timothy Adams & Jean-David Gerber & Tobias Haller, 2021. "Decentralization for Increased Sustainability in Natural Resource Management? Two Cautionary Cases from Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, June.

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