The notion of a „global? land grab has drawn attention to the transnational character of large-scale land acquisitions, yet empirical research is suggested a central role played by domestic elites – at local, provincial and national levels – as investors, brokers, partners in such deals. This panel explores the roles of established elites as well as the „nouveau riche? in several developing countries

in the context of rising demand for land for food, fuel and other purposes, and the ways in which the interpenetration of business and political elites – and private capital and parastatal companies – facilitates new forms of accumulation. It also considers the relationship between „traditional? and „modern? elites, and draws attention to elites within rather than apart from, local „communities?, suggesting that the „land grab? should be considered at least in part a „bottom-up? rather than „top-down? process. Cases explore these dynamics in the contexts of Papua New Guinea, Cameroon and Mozambique.

Chair: Sandra Evers, VU Amsterdam

• Colin Filer, Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program, Australian National University, The New Land Grab In Papua New Guinea (Presentation)
• J. A. Mope Simo, Catholic University of Central Africa, Cameroon, Land grabbing, governance and social peace-building issues in Cameroon: Case study of the roles of elites in land deals and commoditisation in the North West Region
• O’Brien, E, in collaboration with The Kenyan Land Alliance, Local land grab practices scrutinized – the role of Kenya’s elite (tbc)
• Madeleine Fairbairn, PhD candidate, Community and Environmental Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, Indirect expropriation: The role of national politics and domestic elites in the Mozambican farmland grab (Presentation)