Recently, the media spotlight turned on so-called ‘land grabs’ – whereby agribusiness, investment funds and government agencies acquire farmland in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Private sector expectations of higher food and commodity prices and government concerns about longer-term food and energy security have made land a more attractive asset. But land is central to livelihoods, culture and identity for millions across the developing world. Continue reading →

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During the past decade, Zimbabwe has undergone a radical process of land redistribution. A new book to be launched by the Royal African Society explores the successes and failures. By Ian Scoones (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex) Zimbabwe’s land

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In April 1992, the Provisional Government of Eritrea enacted the Referendum Proclamation and the Eritrean Nationality Proclamation, created a Referendum Commission and fixed the date of the referendum for April 1993. The two proclamations provided for enabling legal and administrative frameworks that facilitated the registration of Eritreans as well as the conduct and supervision of the referendum.

The first question asked during the drafting of the proclamations was: “Who Votes?” The answer: “an Eritrean”, only led to the next obvious question: “Who is an Eritrean?” The answer was found in an Italian colonial decree on Eritrean “subjects” which defined as Eritrean all persons, with the exception of Italian “citizens”, residing in the country before the end of 1933. This then was the basis for the Eritrean Nationality Law. Continue reading →

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Mary Harper is Africa Editor, BBC World Service News “Do you know what the Kenyan police call Somalis?” asked a successful Somali businessman from his office in downtown Nairobi.  “They call us ATM machines.  That’s because the only way we can

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