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SEMINAR: The green transition in Africa and beyond – a tale of extractivism, fossil capitalism, and green (neo)colonialism

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SEMINAR: Navigating the green energy dilemma: a case study of geothermal development in Kenya

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Apply: PhD scholarships: Digital Agrarian Futures project

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Call for applications 2026: New Thinking on Integrating Biodiversity and Social Justice short course

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PLAAS Webinar: Securing land tenure rights: Dissecting the Upgrading of Land Rights Amendment Bill News & EventsUncategorized

PLAAS Webinar: Securing land tenure rights: Dissecting the Upgrading of Land Rights Amendment Bill

Webinar: Securing land tenure rights: Dissecting the Upgrading of Land Rights Amendment Bill Thursday, 10 September 2020 from 13:00–14:00 (CAT) Join PLAAS for a webinar on “Securing land tenure rights: Dissecting the Upgrading of Land Rights Amendment Bill”. The webinar will feature: Dr Rosalie Kingwill – Research Associate at Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and member of LandNNES,…
PLAAS
September 4, 2020
PODCAST Ep. 4: Issa Shivji on the “new neoliberalism”, nationalism and pan-Africanism (Part 2) Agrarian PoliticsNews & EventsUncategorized

PODCAST Ep. 4: Issa Shivji on the “new neoliberalism”, nationalism and pan-Africanism (Part 2)

In this episode, we conclude our conversation with Prof Issa Shivji, a leading scholar in agrarian studies and pan-Africanism. Drawing on the experience of Tanzania through Mwalimu Nyerere's development project, Issa Shivji analyses the history of nationalism, nation-building and pan-Africanism in the continent. He speaks of the vicissitudes of 'former' neoliberalism and the current "new neoliberalism", while pointing out paths…
PLAAS
August 31, 2020
PLAAS Webinar: Land activism in South Africa: The state of rural and urban struggles News & EventsUncategorized

PLAAS Webinar: Land activism in South Africa: The state of rural and urban struggles

Webinar: Land activism in South Africa: The state of rural and urban struggles Thursday, 3 September 2020 from 13:00–14:00 (CAT) Join PLAAS for a webinar on “Land activism in South Africa: the state of rural and urban struggles”. The webinar will feature: Mercia Andrews, director of the Trust for Community Outreach and Education and member of Inyanda Land Movement Themba Chauke,…
PLAAS
August 28, 2020
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Women’s Land Rights for Inclusive Development and Growth in Africa News & EventsPast projects

Women’s Land Rights for Inclusive Development and Growth in Africa

The project “Women’s Rights for Inclusive Development and Growth in Africa” aims to hold governments accountable on on the implementation of policies and laws on women’s land rights monitoring the nature of policies and the actions they take. The project has focused on women’s land rights in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Togo and South Africa. A scorecard has been…
PLAAS
August 26, 2020
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Briefing note on “Struggles for the African Commons: Building an Agenda for Engaged Scholarship” News & EventsUncategorized

Briefing note on “Struggles for the African Commons: Building an Agenda for Engaged Scholarship”

Briefing note on “Struggles for the African Commons: Building an Agenda for Engaged Scholarship” Governing the commons is profoundly a question of political economy. We want to start the conversation and build momentum around an agenda towards engaged scholarship within and across African universities that addresses struggles not only over natural resources but over political authority and competing notions of…
PLAAS
August 24, 2020
PLAAS Webinar: Legal pluralism and poor implementation hold back women’s land rights in Africa: What can we do? News & EventsUncategorized

PLAAS Webinar: Legal pluralism and poor implementation hold back women’s land rights in Africa: What can we do?

Webinar: Legal pluralism and poor implementation hold back women’s land rights in Africa: What can we do? Thursday, 27 August 2020 at 13:00 (CAT) Join PLAAS for a webinar on “Legal pluralism and poor implementation hold back women’s land rights in Africa: What can we do?”. From the Beijing Conference held 25 years ago to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in…
PLAAS
August 20, 2020
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PLAAS welcomes new SARChI scholars News & Events

PLAAS welcomes new SARChI scholars

This week marks the launch of the South African Research Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies which is funded by the National Research Foundation. The chair is held by Professor Ruth Hall, who has initiated a five-year research programme (2020-2024) on dynamics of agrarian change and rural transformations in Africa. The Research Chair will include work on the character…
PLAAS
August 19, 2020
PLAAS Webinar: Zimbabwe: Crisis and Construction News & EventsUncategorized

PLAAS Webinar: Zimbabwe: Crisis and Construction

Webinar: Zimbabwe: Crisis and Construction Thursday, 20 August 2020 at 13:00 (CAT) Join PLAAS for a webinar on “Zimbabwe: Crisis and Construction” featuring Professor Brian Raftopolous (Research Fellow in the International Studies Group, University of the Free State), Jestina Mukoko (director, Zimbabwe Peace Project), and Dr Toendepi Shonhe (Thabo Mbeki School of Public and International Affairs). The webinar will be presented…
PLAAS
August 18, 2020
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PODCAST Ep. 3: Issa Shivji on neoliberalism, working people’s resistance and the role of intellectuals in Africa (Part 1) Agrarian PoliticsNews & EventsUncategorized

PODCAST Ep. 3: Issa Shivji on neoliberalism, working people’s resistance and the role of intellectuals in Africa (Part 1)

In this episode, we speak to Prof Issa Shivji, a leading scholar in agrarian studies and pan-Africanism about his concept of "working people" which refers to a broad range of people living on the margins in both the countryside and the cities. He argues that the class categories of "working class" and "peasantry" no longer accurately describe concrete realities, following…
PLAAS
August 17, 2020
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Briefing note on “Covid-19 and African food security” News & EventsUncategorized

Briefing note on “Covid-19 and African food security”

Briefing note on “Covid-19 and African food security” The impacts of Covid-19 on food security are complex. While food production continues, the pandemic has profoundly affected farmers, fishers, workers and traders, and the ability of people to buy food. The interruption of food value chains, and regional and global trade, have prompted export bans and other measures to shore up…
PLAAS
August 12, 2020