Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This thesis researches the political and epistemic machinations that control the political agency among rural land holders in conjunction with a non-operational land deal in Mkulazi ward, Tanzania. These machinations are studied through investigating the conditions for resistance in conjunction with the non-operational land deal in Mkulazi ward, Tanzania. The thesis does this by asking what pushes inhabitants of Mkulazi ward to choose to resist or not resist, as well as seeking to understand what inhabitants of Mkulazi ward feel they need in order to protest through official channels.

The data supporting the thesis was collected in Mkulazi ward, Morogoro region, and Kilosa (Tanzania), through a collection of 51 semi-structured interviews together with focus group discussions and ethnographic observations. The data was collected during a field study of two months.

The results of the study show that inhabitants of Mkulazi ward resist the non-operational land deal in ways which minimize the risk of punishment. The study also shows that constraining factors towards further resistance include a feeling of being surveilled, and fear of misspeaking within public settings, as well as a lack of knowledge about the investment, and legal rights to protest. To protest through official channels interviewees report needing a smoother bureaucratic process, as well as the financial means to elevate problems to higher levels of government.

Within research on non-operational land deals there is a lack of focus on resistance towards these. This thesis contributes to narrowing this research gap, as well as providing potential guidance for ways in which knowledge can be more equitably distributed to those affected by non-operational land deals.