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The Politics of Land Acquisition and Struggles Over Land in The ‘Communal’ Areas of Zimbabwe: The Gokwe Region in the 1980s and 1990s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2023

Pius Shungudzapera Nyambara
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Abstract

Historical writing on agrarian differentiation in rural Zimbabwe has moved away from conceptualising the peasantry as a homogeneous class, and has therefore enhanced our understanding of the process of rural differentiation. While such writing recognises patterns of differential land holding, however, it has not shown clearly how the differences developed over time. There has been a tendency to argue that land distribution in the ‘communal’ areas is less skewed than other variables and therefore acts as a brake on the process of accumulation and differentiation among the peasantry. The article challenges this basic assumption, arguing that ‘communal’ tenure actually facilitated the development of significant disparities in landholding and accumulation by rural households.

Résumé

Les écrits historiques sur la différenciation agraire dans les régions rurales du Zimbabwe ont cessé de conceptualiser la paysannerie comme une classe homogène et nous ont ainsi permis de mieux comprendre le processus de différenciation rurale. Même s'il est vrai que cette littérature reconnaît les modèles d'exploitation agraire différentielle, elle n'a cependant pas montré clairement l'évolution des différences dans le temps. Une tendance consistait à affirmer que la répartition des terres dans les zones “communales” était moins faussée que d'autres variables et agissait donc comme un frein sur le processus d'accumulation et de différenciation au sein de la paysannerie. L'article remet en question cette hypothèse fondamentale, affirmant que le régime agraire “communal” favorisait en réalité le développement de disparités significatives en matière d'exploitation agraire et d'accumulation par les ménages ruraux.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 253 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2001

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