Freeze-framing territory: time and its significance in land governance. Issue 2 (3rd May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fisher, David
• Is Part Of: Space & polity. Volume 20:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 212
• Page End: 225
• Publication Date: 2016-05-03
• Subjects: land -- territory -- tenure -- time -- law; Political geography -- Periodicals; Regionalism -- Periodicals; Decentralization in government -- Periodicals; Nationalism -- Periodicals; 320.1205
• DOI: 10.1080/13562576.2016.1174557
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1356-2576

Abstract

Abstract : This paper explores how temporal symbolism is used to construct land as an object of enduring value. Using anthropological and ethnographic sources, I highlight how different practices of landholding are informed by different understandings of "permanence". I elaborate on how institutions of landholding employ "temporal signposts" to mark out land allocation and access arrangements over time. In conclusion, I explore the political roles of inter-temporal land governance, positing a link between codified "permanences" of landholding in land laws and the entrenchment of socio-spatial power. I suggest that the temporal dimension of land governance demands interrogation alongside the spatial.