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Land Reform as a Counterinsurgency Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Albertus

    (Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA)

  • Oliver Kaplan

    (Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA)

Abstract

Can targeted land reform reduce levels of civil war conflict by mitigating the factors that contribute to rural rebellion? This article uses new micro-level data on land reform and insurgency at the municipal level from Colombia from 1988 to 2000, a country with high rates of land inequality and informal land ownership, to test whether land reform undercut subsequent guerrilla activity. The reform had two distinct aspects. Politically powerful large landholders blocked most large-scale reform, which resulted primarily in an enduring, low-intensity, and geographically dispersed reform that spurred low levels of insurgent activity. Larger-scale reforms were only implemented in areas that threatened serious violence and had the potential to harm elite interests, and in these limited areas reform reduced guerrilla activity. This suggests that while land reform can be an effective counterinsurgency policy, it may be politically difficult to implement at a sufficient scale because it threatens the status quo.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Albertus & Oliver Kaplan, 2013. "Land Reform as a Counterinsurgency Policy," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 57(2), pages 198-231, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:57:y:2013:i:2:p:198-231
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fatema, Naureen, 2019. "Can land title reduce low-intensity interhousehold conflict incidences and associated damages in eastern DRC?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Castro-Nunez, Augusto & Mertz, Ole & Quintero, Marcela, 2016. "Propensity of farmers to conserve forest within REDD+ projects in areas affected by armed-conflict," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 22-30.
    3. Perry Ferrell, 2019. "Titles for me but not for thee: transitional gains trap of property rights extension in Colombia," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 178(1), pages 95-114, January.
    4. Dominic Rohner, 2018. "Success Factors for Peace Treaties: A Review of Theory and Evidence," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 18.08, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    5. Mendola, Mariapia & Simtowe, Franklin, 2015. "The Welfare Impact of Land Redistribution: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Initiative in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 53-69.
    6. Jordi Domenech & Francisco Herreros, 2018. "Land reform and conflict before the Civil War: landowner response to tenancy reform in 1930s Catalonia," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(4), pages 1322-1348, November.
    7. Domenech, Jordi & Herreros, Francisco, 2017. "Land reform and peasant revolution. Evidence from 1930s Spain," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 82-103.

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