This handbook organizes chapters by sets of policies that are important components of discussions about how to facilitate development. In each chapter, authors identify and discuss the relevant theoretical and empirical literature that describes the fundamental problems that the policies seek to remedy or ameliorate, as well as the literature that evaluates the effects of the policies. It presents an accurate, self-contained survey of the current state of the field. It summarizes the most recent discussions, and elucidates new developments. Although original material is also included, the main aim is the provision of comprehensive and accessible surveys

The 2008 outcry over the “global land grab” made headlines around the world, leading to a sustained interest in the dynamics and fate of customary land among both academics and development practitioners. In Power/Knowledge/Land, author Laura German profiles the consolidation of a global knowledge regime surrounding land and its governance within international development circles in the decade following this outcry, and the growing enrollment of previously antagonistic actors within it. Drawing theoretical insights on the inseparability of power and knowledge, German reveals the dynamics of knowledge practices that have enabled the longstanding project of commodifying customary land – and the more contemporary interests in acquiring and financializing it – to be advanced and legitimated by capturing the energies of socially progressive forces. By bringing theories of change from the emergent land governance orthodoxy into dialogue with the ethnographic evidence from across the African continent and beyond, concepts masquerading as universal and self-evident truths are provincialized, and their role in commodifying customary land and entrenching colonial futurities put on display. In doing so, the volume brings wider academic debates surrounding productive forms of power into the heart of the land grab debate, while enhancing their accessibility to a wider audience. Power/Knowledge/Land takes current scholarly debates surrounding land grabs beyond their theoretical moorings in critical agrarian studies, political economy and globalization into contemporary debates surrounding the politics of knowledge—from theories of coloniality to ontological anthropology, thereby enabling new dynamics of the phenomenon to be revealed. The book deploys a pioneering epistemology integrating deconstructionist approaches (to reveal the tactics, truth claims and ontological assumptions of global knowledge brokers), with systematic qualitative reviews and comparative study (to contrast these dominant constructs with the evidence and reveal alternative ways of knowing “land” and practicing “security” from the ethnographic literature). This helps to reveal the Western and modernist biases in the narratives that have been advanced about women, custom, and security, revealing how the coloniality of knowledge works to grease the wheels of land takings by advancing highly provincialized constructs aligned with western interests as universal truths.

An original analysis of American interventions in the developing world, asking what can be done to reduce their economic and human cost. Kapstein shows the conditions under which American policies are most likely to produce political stability, and when they are most likely to fail.

The book highlights proceedings from the Berlin 2008: Agriculture and Development conference held in preparation for the World Development Report 2008.

Rapid structural transformation and urbanization are transforming agriculture and food production in rural areas across the world. This textbook provides a comprehensive review and assessment of the multi-faceted nature of agriculture and rural development, particularly in the developing world, where the greatest challenges occur. It is designed around five thematic parts: Agricultural Intensification and Technical Change; Political Economy of Agricultural Policies; Community and Rural Institutions; Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health; and Future Relevance of International Institutions. Each chapter presents a detailed but accessible review of the literature on the specific topic and discusses the frontiers in research and institutional changes needed as societies adapt to the transformation processes. All authors are eminent scholars with international reputations, who have been actively engaged in the contemporary debates around agricultural development and rural transformation.

This book presents major challenges and opportunities facing agriculture sectors in the wake of the transition from a planned to market economy. Using Albania as a case study, it examines the shift from communism to free markets and the lasting effects of such change on agricultural production and education. Using primary research sources to give readers an accurate portrayal of the path that lies ahead for many developing countries, the book also looks at the future of agriculture in transitioning economies.

Prepared under the aegis of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), this text presents a fresh and comprehensive look at agricultural development policy. It provides a clear, systematic review of important classes of policy issues in developing countries and discusses the emerging international consensus on viable approaches to the issues. The text is unique in its coverage and depth and it: Summarises hundreds of references on agricultural development policies Cites policy experiences and applied studies in more than 70 countries Provides guidance for policy makers giving examples of successes and failures Reviews issues related to the formulation of strategies and the requirements for making them successful Develops the conceptual foundations and illustrates policies that have worked, and some that have not, with explanations Topics covered include agriculture’s role in economic development, the objectives and strategies of agricultural policy, linkages between macroeconomic and agricultural policy, policies for the agricultural financial system and agricultural technology development. Upper level undergraduates taking courses in Economic Development and International Development and graduates taking courses in Agricultural Development, International and Economic Development, Natural Resource Management and specialised topics in agriculture will find this text of great interest. It also serves as a reference for professionals and researchers in the field of International Development.

Rural movements have recently emerged to become some of the most important social forces in opposition to neoliberalism. From Brazil and Mexico to Zimbabwe and the Philippines, rural movements of diverse political character, but all sharing the same social basis of dispossessed peasants and unemployed workers, have used land occupations and other tactics to confront the neoliberal state. This volume brings together for the first time across three continents - Africa, Latin America and Asia - an intellectually consistent set of original investigations into this new generation of rural social movements. These country studies seek to identify their social composition, strategies, tactics, and ideologies; to assess their relations with other social actors, including political parties, urban social movements, and international aid agencies and other institutions; and to examine their most common tactic, the land occupation, its origins, pace and patterns, as well as the responses of governments and landowners. At a more fundamental level, this volume explores the ways in which two decades of neoliberal policy - including new land tenure arrangements intended to hasten the commodification of land, and new land uses linked to global markets -- have undermined the social reproduction of the rural labour force and created the conditions for popular resistance. The volume demonstrates the longer-term potential impact of these movements. In economic terms, they raise the possibility of tackling immiseration by means of the redistribution of land and the reorganisation of production on a more efficient and socially responsible basis. And in political terms, breaking the power of landowners and transnational capital with interests in land could ultimately open the way to an alternative pattern of capital accumulation and development.