Description
Book SynopsisLand tenure rights are a burning issue in South Africa, as in Africa more widely. Land, Power, and Custom explores the implications of the controversial 2004 Communal Land Rights Act, criticized for reinforcing the apartheid power structure and ignoring the interests of the common people.
Trade Review“Land, Power & Custom brings together a rich combination of critical reflection and historical and ethnographic evidence to elucidate the challenges of securing land rights in post-apartheid South Africa. The authors … make clear the relevance of South Africa’s experiments and dilemmas for land rights reform in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.”
“(
Land, Power, and Custom) is a rich source of material for the South African public, for legal and anthropological scholars, and for all those concerned with debates going on apace, seemingly all over Africa.” * African Studies Review *
“The value of Claassens and Cousins' book is that the reader gets to grips with the flimsy and insecure nature of land entitlements for residents in former Homelands and the impression is left, which is disturbing, that South Africa remains an apartheid society.” * Journal of Southern African History *
“… a timely intervention in a crucial debate on the meaning of custom and tradition in post-apartheid democracy.”
“… an outstanding collection of essays of great interest and value to all those concerned with these issues across Africa, as the continent searches for tenure security in the context of development, and for the appropriate role and meaning of the customary within democratic, rights-based governance.”
“It is ironic that our government, that is so concerned about growing inequality, would continue to support the disempowerment of women and rural people by passing laws that reinforce apartheid boundaries and power relations in so-called ‘communal areas.’ This is an important book for all citizens concerned with fighting inequality.”
