Praveen Jha

Imperialism and Primitive Accumulation: Notes on the New Scramble for Africa:

This article recuperates the links between imperialism and primitive accumulation, arguing that the two are inherently connected. It undertakes a review of the literature to show that the links are deeper than is often recognized, as in the work of David Harvey. It also maps the stages of imperialism, their logics and characteristics, from the initial expansion of merchant capitalism, through monopoly capitalism and its financialization, which is now leading a ‘new scramble’. The article shows how the various scrambles for Africa have evolved, including past and present land grabs, as well as the nature of resistance.

The Classical Agrarian Question: Myth, Reality and Relevance Today

This article traces a particular view of the classical agrarian question in Marxian political economy which has sustained the myth of industrialization as the basic objective of transformation. The idea was born in the late nineteenth century among the European vanguard, then consolidated as an axiom during the Cold War, only to be resurrected in the neoliberal period by a professionalized discipline of ‘agrarian studies’. This article argues that such a view fails to acknowledge the historic importance of the national question and its land and peasant components, which are irreducible to industrialization. The article restores national sovereignty to its proper place in the classical agrarian question and argues that it remains the cornerstone of all other dimensions of the agrarian question, including gender equity and ecological sustainability.

The Scramble for Africa’s Agricultural Land: A Note on India’s Excursus

This chapter maps the scope and extent of transnational land acquisitions and investments in Africa by Indian entities. It also establishes the links between such investments and State policy, both, of the host and destination countries. In order to bring out the broader implications associated with the ongoing scramble, the chapter uses the example of three nations with a high concentration of Indian investments, namely Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania. The impact of land investments on the livelihoods and accelerated process of semi-proletarianisation of the peasants, particularly the small farmers is also discussed in the chapter.

The Scramble for Land and Natural Resources in Africa

This chapter explores the historical and systemic dynamics of the new scramble for Africa, as well as the current land-grabbing patterns and agents. It is argued that, despite the emergence of new competitors from the South, the key drivers of the scramble remain the Western monopolies and their state patrons, in the context of terminal systemic crisis and transition. It is also argued that the scramble has set off new structural tendencies on the continent, which are transforming Africa’s trajectory in the twenty-first century. The tendencies point towards a convergence of economic and social characteristics among the regions, within the overall trend of intensified marginalization and subordinate integration into the world economy. Yet, new forms of resistance have also emerged, from the local to the national and regional levels, which have made concrete and substantial advances, especially in Southern Africa.

In Defense of Intellectual Autonomy: A Response to Hendricks

This article is a response to Fred Hendricks’ critique of our most recent statement on the classical and contemporary agrarian questions. The critique, we believe, is a gross misunderstanding of our position on a variety of issues, including populism, nationalism, the character of the peasantry and industrialization. In defence of our intellectual integrity and autonomy, we restate here our basic positions and outline the trajectory of our collective research projects, in the hope that our positions are put into better perspective.