This publication serves as an introduction to a collection of articles published in the African Studies Review. It discusses the implications of as well as the question through what actors, processes, and relationships land deals become stalled or partially implemented. The reviewed articles draw on long-term, in-depth ethnographic research of land deals in Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. 

Cambodia's microfinance over-indebtedness crisis is leading to human rights abuses. In 2020, the average microloan in Cambodia was $4,280 – the largest in the world. The average microloan was larger than 95% of Cambodians' incomes. There were 2.8 million microloans held across the country's 3.6 million households.

A local famer-herder conflict over grazing rights in the Mauritanian-Senegal border region has triggered a spiral of violence between Senegalese and Mauritanians in the southern Senegal River bank and different Mauritanian cities. This escalation has to be understood against the background of persistent racism and discrimination of the ‘black’ population of Mauritania.

A busca por recursos naturais sobressai nas investidas interna- cionais de alguns países, sendo a China uma das melhores ilustrações. Motiva a política externa chinesa, assim orientada, o abastecimento principalmente de matérias primas energéticas e de produtos agrícolas. Para as áreas implicadas, os desdobramentos podem se mostrar problemáticos, mormente pelas disputas por recursos essenciais. Este estudo focaliza esse assunto, investigando a parceria governamental entre China e Angola que criou a empresa Jiangzhou.

How can maps drawn over a century ago still lead to conflict between two countries? The Southeast Asian countries of Thailand and Cambodia are neighbors with a difficult history and a shared border. Their religious similarities have made sacred spaces along the border a divisive issue, with the sacred site of Preah Vihear a central point of controversy.

Despite the ongoing land administration reforms being implemented across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Ghana, as a viable pathway to achieve tenure security and greater efficiency in land administration, the subject of land dispute resolution has received relatively less attention. Whereas customary tenure institutions play a central role in land administration (controlling ~80% of all land in Ghana), they remain at the fringes of the formal land dispute adjudicatory process.

The articles in this Bulletin are written by the following organizations and individuals: National Coordinator for the Defense of the Mangrove Ecosystem (C-CONDEM), Ecuador; Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakya (Bentala Raya Heritage Foundation), Indonesia; Venezuelan Observatory of Political Ecology and members of the WRM international secretariat in close collaboration with several allies who are part of grassroots groups in different countries.

A border dispute between Indian and Chinese troops, the most dangerous in 45 years, has roiled relations in the High Himalayan valleys and plateaus separating India (Ladakh) and China (Aksia Chin). Against this barren landscape, ancient pathways connecting Central, South, and East Asia converge, making the area today a key nodal point of commercial and strategic interest to three nuclear powers, India, China, and Pakistan.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has put an additional strain on Afghanistan’s weak healthcare system. Prior to the pandemic, the government and its allies had already problems in providing high quality health services for the people in Afghanistan because of inadequate facilities, insecurities, and ongoing conflicts. This year, COVID- 19 exacerbated the situation and overwhelmed the healthcare system even further. As predicted, an influx of migrants suspected of having COVID-19 contributed to community transmission and led to an increase of cases across the country.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In July 2017, Democratic Party candidate Khaltmaa Battulga was elected Mongolia’s new president with 50.61% of the vote, defeating his rival Miyegombo Enkhbold from the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) who received 41.16% of the vote. Importantly, 8.23% of the voters in the second round chose the none-of-the-above option, the so-called blank ballot. Mongolians believe in democracy as a guiding general principle and vision, but they have less trust in the fairness and effectiveness of political institutions.

Cet article analyse l’histoire de la Côte d’Ivoire en matière de certification des terres de 2004 à 2017, en passant au crible les variables de l’économie politique qui causent des frictions et ralentissent les programmes d’enregistrement des droits fonciers dans les pays africains. Sont ainsi identifiées les inégalités régionales, les inégalités sociales, et les différences régionales dans les institutions foncières préexistantes comme des facteurs qui entravent la réforme foncière.

Nigeria’s arid North West is beset by violence between herders and farmers, which has been compounded by an explosion in criminal activity and infiltration by jihadist groups into the region. The last decade has seen thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced, with many fleeing into Niger Republic next door. State-level peace efforts with several armed factions have had some success, but these will not prove durable unless more actors lay down their weapons.