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Land Transactions and Chieftaincies in Southwestern Togo

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  • Marco Gardini

Abstract

Land access is becoming a crucial issue in many African contexts, where groups and individuals are coping with land scarcity and increasing competition over resources. Based on fieldwork carried out in the southwestern region of Togo, this paper explores the plurality and adaptability of the forms of land access that have historically emerged from changing economic and political landscapes characterized by the rise and the decline of cocoa cultivation. Moreover, it analyses the current strategies (from manipulation of group membership and land title registration to renegotiation of previous sharecropping agreements) subjects in asymmetrical power relations use to reinforce or contest rights over land in a context of rising social tensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Gardini, 2012. "Land Transactions and Chieftaincies in Southwestern Togo," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 47(1), pages 51-72.
  • Handle: RePEc:gig:afjour:v:46:y:2012:i:1:p:51-72
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    File URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/520/518
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. J.-P. Colin & M. Ayouz, 2006. "The development of a land market? Insights from Côte d'Ivoire," Post-Print hal-00719280, HAL.
    2. Christian Lund, 2011. "Property and Citizenship: Conceptually Connecting Land Rights and Belonging in Africa," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 46(3), pages 71-75.
    3. Jean-Philippe Colin & Mourad Ayouz, 2006. "The Development of a Land Market? Insights from Côte d’Ivoire," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 82(3), pages 404-423.
    4. J.-P. Colin & M. Ayouz, 2006. "The development of a land market? Insights from Côte d'Ivoire," Post-Print hal-00716385, HAL.
    5. Jean‐Philippe Platteau, 1996. "The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 29-86, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kohnert, Dirk, 2015. "Togo: recent political and economic development," MPRA Paper 62029, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Breuer, Anita & Asiedu, Edward, 2017. "Can Gender-Targeted Employment Interventions Help Enhance Community Participation? Evidence from Urban Togo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 390-407.

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