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Land Grabs, Imperialism, and Anti-imperialism in Africa

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism

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Definition

The capture of African indigenous land was one of the first acts of imperialism, leading Africans to found movements such as the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society. While coercion was the usual approach adopted by international forces and their comprador local allies, the claim that such land capture would ultimately ensure to the benefit of locals has remained a core logic, as has the international character of the process now regarded as ‘land grab.’

Introduction

The capture of African indigenous land was one of the first acts of imperialism, leading Africans to found movements such as the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society. While coercion was the usual approach adopted by international forces and their comprador local allies, the claim that such land capture would ultimately ensure to the benefit of locals has remained a core logic, as has the international character of the process now regarded as ‘land grab’. It is a phenomenon for which mainstream economics is...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Development Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Franklin Obeng-Odoom

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  1. Franklin Obeng-Odoom
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Correspondence to Franklin Obeng-Odoom .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Center for Worker Education, Brooklyn College, New York, NY, USA

    Immanuel Ness

  2. Independent Scholar, Belfast, UK

    Zak Cope

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Obeng-Odoom, F. (2020). Land Grabs, Imperialism, and Anti-imperialism in Africa. In: Ness, I., Cope, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_236-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_236-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91206-6

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