From resolving land disputes to agrarian justice – dealing with the structural crisis of plantation agriculture in eastern DR Congo. Issue 2 (23rd February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: van Leeuwen, Mathijs; Mathys, Gillian; de Vries, Lotje; van der Haar, Gemma
• Is Part Of: Journal of peasant studies. Volume 49:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 309
• Page End: 334
• Publication Date: 2022-02-23
• Subjects: Land disputes -- peacebuilding -- mediation -- agrarian change -- agrarian justice -- political economy -- DR Congo; Peasantry -- Periodicals; Sociology, Rural -- Periodicals; Rural development -- Periodicals; 305.563305
• DOI: 10.1080/03066150.2020.1824179
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-6150

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Land disputes in conflict-affected settings are often considered as a security threat, to be addressed through mediation and strengthening the rule of law. This overlooks the roots of land conflicts in longer-term processes of agrarian development and worsening conditions of land and labour access. A case-study of a dispute between former plantation labourers and concession holders in eastern DR Congo shows mediation's incapacity to counter perceived structural injustices in land access and difficulties in making a living. While dispute resolution may temporarily calm down tensions, it cannot substitute for fundamental political choices vis-a-vis wider questions of agrarian development and justice.