9. The tragedy of the grabbed commons

Question 1

Please explain what land grabbing is

Answer 1

Land grabbing is the large-scale land acquisitions in a context of imbalanced power relations between investors and prior land users, which are often manifested through different levels and mechanisms of coercion.

Question 2

Describe how Dell’Angelo defines commons grabbing in an analytical way

Answer 2

Commons grabbing are large- scale acquisitions of land that is:

• Claimed by a multiplicity of actors
• In a context of imbalanced power relations between investors and prior land users
• Which are coerced on different levels

Question 3

Describe the relation between land grabbing and legality

Answer 3

• Even if there is a legal and formal concession from the government, a LSLA can still be land grabbing, as it is still unjust. Land grabbing is about injustice, not legality.

Question 4

What is green grabbing?

Answer 4

• Green grabbing refers to acquisition for ecotourism and conservation. (Dell’Angelo, 2017)

Question 5

Why is neoliberalism a threat to commons?

Answer 5

• Formalization of titles (private property rights) (neoliberalism) has unintended consequences, this could lead to selling the land which could end negatively because the asymmetry of market information between seller and buyer
• The absence of formally recognized property rights can now work against the interest of communities. Commons users can be excluded from a negotiation of LSLA because have no formal property rights to defend.

(Dell’Angelo, 2017)

Question 6

What is the role of the government in commons grabbing?

Answer 6

• In 70% of cases, land is grabbed through a government lease.
• In 89% of cases, the national government favored the acquisition.
• Governments should defend commons land, and change their preference for large-scale agriculture. Legal reforms aiming at strengthening common-property regimes are needed.

(Dell’Angelo, 2017)

Question 7

Which triple crisis gave momentum to the topic of land grabbing?

Answer 7

• Recently, the phenomenon of the global land rush gave new momentum to the topic of land grabbing. 2008 was a watershed moment in this process due to three crises:
  1. Financial
  2. Climatic
  3. Food security
• These three crises triggered an escalating expansion of transnational Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs)

Question 8

What is the disconcerting outcome of Dell’Angelo’s research on commons grabbing (2021)?

Answer 8

A disconcerting outcome is that while prevailing patterns or organization are peaceful, the social outcomes that result are frequently violent, involving assassinations.

Question 9

Summarize the paper by Dell’Angelo et al. (2017).

Answer 9

Dell’Angelo et al. seek to investigate whether land grabs are happening at the expense of the commons. They found that LSLA’s (large scale land acquisitons) often result in a change from smallholder farmer to large-scale farming; LSLA’s often target common land or land with multiple claims and these are privatized; acquisitons are not conflict-free.

Question 10

What is the key message in Dell’Angelo et al. (2021)?

Answer 10

Using data from EJAtlas, Dell’Angelo et al. investigate which actors are involved with Large Scale Land Acquisitions, which forms they mobilize in, and eventual outcomes. They especially focus on high intensity conflicts. Dell’Angelo et al. conclude that most often, farmers and indigenous people are robbed from their land, and that their peaceful mobilizations often result in violence and the construction of large monoculture farms. As a solution, they propose that the state should recognise its role in offering mediation between the conflicting groups, rather than following a neoliberal path of privatization of commons land, which leads to the violation of human rights, and supresses emerging forces needed for sustainability.