Matthew I. Mitchell

Land grievances and the mobilization of electoral violence

Recent studies have asked why elites resort to violence, yet many overlook the process and dynamics of mobilizing violence. How do politicians convince their supporters to fight? This article argues that in multi-ethnic and democratizing societies where land and property rights are weak and politicized, land grievances can provide leaders with a powerful tool to organize electoral violence. We develop a theory to show how land grievances can give rise to violent mobilization when leaders frame elections as a threat to the land security of supporters or an opportunity to reclaim land or strengthen land rights. Conversely, land grievances are ineffective when citizens do not believe that elections signal a credible threat to their land security or an opportunity to strengthen land rights. We further specify how the type of land grievance shapes the logic and form of violent action. Grievances based on land insecurity shape a pre-emptive logic of violence, while grievances based on competing land claims often shape an opportunistic logic of electoral violence. The article examines the validity of our theory using a comparative case study between zones of escalation and non-escalation of violence during post-electoral crises in Kenya (2007–08) and Côte d’Ivoire (2010–11). By observing the variation between positive and negative cases, the article identifies factors that foment and constrain the mobilization of election violence.

Deciphering ‘Sons of the Soil’ Conflicts: A Critical Survey of the Literature

Abstract Migration has always been a long-standing feature of political life throughout the world. In some cases, however, the arrival of large numbers of migrants has produced violent clashes between ethnically distinct ‘native’ or ‘local’ populations and migrants. These conflicts are commonly referred to as ‘Sons of the Soil’ (SoS) conflicts. Notwithstanding the growing interest in this form of conflict, a number of questions remain: What are the main features and dynamics of SoS conflicts? How do SoS conflicts differ from other types of conflicts (e.g. ethnic conflict, civil war)? What are the mechanisms linking migration to conflict, and how might these vary across space and time? By examining a wide range of methodological research on SoS conflicts in a plurality of regions (e.g. Africa, China, Europe, India, Russia, Southeast Asia), the article provides a comprehensive analysis on SoS conflicts and generates new conceptual and theoretical perspectives for deciphering the complex dynamics surrounding these conflicts.

‘New’ Approaches to the Governance of Africa’s Natural Resources

Extant work on natural resources in Africa has made significant contributions towards our understanding of key challenges and prospects facing the sector, especially with regard to governance-related matters. Discussions on the multifaceted nature of relevant stakeholders in the resource sector have particularly been fruitful in yielding renewed engagement with previously neglected dynamics such as the role of corporate actors and the significance of global standards in the regulation of natural resources on the continent. In this context, the scholarship on natural resource governance in Africa has arguably evolved from a predominant view that held state actors as the primary actors of resource governance to one that acknowledges the powerful role of non-state actors such as multinational corporations and civil society organizations in the governance process. Yet, with a great number of analyses studying the significance of various state and non-state actors’ impacts on African natural resource governance, much remains to be deciphered with regard to the local and global norms and structures through, and within, which these various stakeholders operate. This book is innovative in its approach in that it aims to advance our understanding of such norms and structures, by presenting recent scholarship from various disciplinary perspectives, thus illustrating throughout the chapters an extensive coverage of a different number of natural resource sectors and resource-rich African countries.

Prospects and Trends in the Governance of Africa’s Natural Resources: Reflections on the Role of External and Internal Actors

Contemporary studies of Africa’s natural resource sectors are concerned with concepts such as governance, transnational m, regionalism (s), ‘network’/’public’ diplomacy, norms (e.g., good governance and corporate social responsibility), and conflict commodities. By way of conclusion, this chapter aims not only to identify and elaborate upon the most important theoretical, empirical, and policy trends associated with these concepts and place them in a broader perspective but also to reflect upon what generalizations may be made regarding the diffusion of such concepts and their impact on governance in Africa’s natural resource sectors. To this end, the chapter is divided into five main sections. The first section revisits the theme of oil in Africa by examining the shift away from privileging a focus on energy ‘security’ towards the embracing of a new agenda on energy ‘governance’. This provides us with a new lens to understand why governance challenges in the oil sector (and other natural resource sectors) must move beyond dominant state-centric approaches. The second section explores the prospects and trends in Africa’s natural resources by focusing on a series of interrelated themes around the continent’s most important resource — land. This section is divided into three subsections that explore the following issues related to the governance of land in Africa: the rise of land grabs, the growth of Chinese investments in Africa’s natural resource sectors, and land conflicts and the politics around land reform.