Dans les pays du Sud, l’accès à la terre et à ses ressources ainsi que son contrôle et ses usages représentent des questions cruciales. Au cœur des défis de la construction de l’État, du développement agricole, de la sécurité alimentaire et de la durabilité environnementale, le foncier est aussi un marqueur identitaire et une source récurrente de conflits. Depuis vingt ans, de nombreuses recherches ont renouvelé les savoirs sur ces questions. Dans une approche processuelle et pluridisciplinaire, cet ouvrage propose un état des lieux sur les dynamiques foncières rurales au Sud. S’appuyant sur une très riche bibliographie internationale, il traite des principaux thèmes liés aux questions foncières : depuis les pratiques et dynamiques locales (évolution des droits sur la terre, marchés fonciers, conflits...) jusqu’aux politiques publiques (réformes agraires, programmes de formalisation des droits sur la terre), en passant par les enjeux de méthode de recherche et d’expertise foncières. Chaque chapitre propose une mise en dialogue critique entre les questionnements, les catégories d’analyse et les résultats de la recherche. Somme sans équivalent sur le sujet, cet ouvrage constitue un outil de référence pour tous ceux qui, étudiants, chercheurs ou praticiens du développement, souhaitent approfondir leur compréhension des dynamiques foncières dans les mondes ruraux contemporains.

Depuis une quinzaine d'années, la thématique foncière revient en force dans le champ des politiques de développement et dans celui de la recherche. Ce regain d'intérêt exprime des enjeux multiples : accroissement de la productivité du secteur agricole, réduction de la pauvreté, duralibité socio-environnementale, sécurité alimentaire, prévention des conflits. Un axe fort de la mise en agenda politique de la question foncière concerne la reconnaissance des droits des familles et des communautés rurales dont les terres sont gouvernées sous un régime "coutumier". Depuis le début des années 1990, cet objectif a généré une importante ingénierie institutionnelle, à travers la production de textes légaux et de programmes d'enregistrement des droits fonciers dans les pays du Sud. Le présent ouvrage propose une lecture de ces interventions qui privilégie leurs enjeux politiques, à partir d'études empiriques conduites en Afrique subsaharienne, en Amérique latine et en Asie du Sud-Est.

Benin is a small, slow-growing economy whose development relies on two sources of rent that are controlled by self-centred elites: cotton export and illegal cross-border trade with Nigeria. Patrimonialism governs Beninese society as a forceful struggle for political power takes place between the oligarchs who control these sources and use them as formidable levers of power. State Capture and Rent-Seeking in Benin argues that this struggle causes the instability and unpredictability of economic policies, resulting in institutional problems that make economic diversification and growth difficult. Based on a thorough account of the economic, social, and political development of Benin, this institutional diagnostic provides a detailed analysis of its critical institution- and development-sensitive areas such as electoral campaign finance, state capture by business and elites, management of the cotton sector, the tax effort, the informal trading between Benin and Nigeria, and the political economy of land reform.

'The Commons' explores the many forms of development being championed by Africa's residents, users, and citizens. In addition to managing property and shared tangible and intangible resources collectively, communities are experimenting with a concept of 'commoning' founded on values such as community, engagement, reciprocity, and trust. In practice, their approach takes the form of land-based commons, housing cooperatives, hybrid cultural spaces or places for innovation, and collaborative digital platforms. The purpose of this book, where observation of historical and recent practices converges with new theories within commons scholarship, is not to promote commons themselves. Rather, it examines the tensions, drivers of change, and opportunities that surround commons dynamics in Africa. This book highlights the abundance of commons-based entrepreneurial processes in Sub-Saharan Africa and shows that partnerships between African public authorities and communities involved in the commons can be powerful drivers of sustainable development for the continent.

The last twenty years have seen a rapid increase in scholarly activity and publications dedicated to environmental migration and displacement, and the field has now reached a point in terms of profile, complexity, and sheer volume of reporting that a general review and assessment of existing knowledge and future research priorities is warranted. So far, such a product does not exist. The Routledge Handbook of Environmental Displacement and Migration provides a state-of-the-science review of research on how environmental variability and change influence current and future global migration patterns and, in some instances, trigger large-scale population displacements. Drawing together contributions from leading researchers in the field, this compendium will become a go-to guide for established and newly interested scholars, for government and policymaking entities, and for students and their instructors. It explains theoretical, conceptual, and empirical developments that have been made in recent years; describes their origins and connections to broader topics including migration research, development studies, and international public policy and law; and highlights emerging areas where new and/or additional research and reflection are warranted. The structure and the nature of the book allow the reader to quickly find a concise review relevant to conducting research or developing policy on particular topics, and to obtain a broad, reliable survey of what is presently known about the subject.

This book re-establishes the relevance of mainstream anthropological (and sociological) approaches to development processes and simultaneously recognizes that contemporary development ought to be anthropology‘s principal area of study. Professor de Sardan argues for a socio-anthropology of change and development that is a deeply empirical, multidimensional, diachronic study of social groups and their interactions. The Introduction provides a thought-provoking examination of the principal new approaches that have emerged in the discipline during the 1990s. Part I then makes clear the complexity of social change and development, and the ways in which socio-anthropology can measure up to the challenge of this complexity. Part II looks more closely at some of the leading variables involved in the development process, including relations of production; the logics of social action; the nature of knowledge; forms of mediation; and ‘political‘ strategies.