Who controls these lands? Mobilizing social justice claims over land in Tanzania's third sector

Abstract

'Land grabbing' has become one of the most iconic concerns within contemporary development circles brought about by the unscrupulous acquisitions of agricultural land by foreign investors. Recent attention within the land grab debate has gone out to the structural power imbalances underlying these this process and the land control regimes which facilitate them. This has shifted the focus from agricultural acquisitions alone to broader process of dispossession. Against the backdrop of structural critique this research has aimed to gain insight into the ability of domestic organizations to mobilize influence over land control in Tanzania, focusing on their concrete strategies and the discursive frames adopted to legitimize them. The research findings reveal a variety of civil society actors engaged in the facilitation and contestation of land control processes. Furthermore, the research reveals a number of conflicting frames, each laying claim to Tanzania's land based resources and each enjoying varying degrees of influence over the practice of land control.