Mapping historical and contemporary agrarian transformations and capitalist infiltration in a complex upland environment: A case from eastern Nepal. (12th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sugden, Fraser; Seddon, David; Raut, Manita
• Is Part Of: Journal of agrarian change. Volume 18:Number 2(2018:Apr.)
• Page Start: 444
• Page End: 472
• Publication Date: 2017-12-12
• Subjects: capitalism -- climate change -- livelihoods -- markets -- Nepal; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Periodicals -- History; Land tenure -- Periodicals; Land reform -- Periodicals; 338.1
• DOI: 10.1111/joac.12223
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-0358

Abstract

Abstract: The relationship that mountain communities have with global capitalism are complex, being mediated by a diverse topography and ecology, both of which provide opportunities for capital accumulation, while also isolating older, "pre‐capitalist" modes of production. This paper takes a case study valley from Nepal's eastern hills, tracing over two centuries of agrarian change and evolving interactions between " adivasi " and "semi‐feudal" economic formations with capitalism. In recent years, the expansion of markets, rising demand for cash, and climate stress have solidified migrant labour as a core component of livelihoods, and the primary mechanism of surplus appropriation from the hill peasantry. Through a focus on three altitudinal zones, however, it is demonstrated how the trajectory of this transformation, including the interactions with persisting pre‐capitalist formations, is mediated by both political–economic processes and the local agro‐ecological context.