LAND LIBERATION AND COMPROMISE IN SA (H/C)

LAND, LIBERATION AND COMPROMISE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA PROVIDES A NOVEL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE INHERENT VOLATILITY OF THE POLITICS OF LAND IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN AFRICA. THE LINK BETWEEN THE ESTABLISHED POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SETTLER COLONIALISM, THE ROLE OF LIBERATION POLITICS AND THE ENDURING IMPACT OF THE TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, KEY FACTORS INHIBITING ATTEMPTS TO EMBARK ON SUBSTANTIVE AGRARIAN REFORM AFTER INDEPENDENCE, ARE CRUCIAL TO COMPREHENDING WHY THE ZIMBABWEAN CRISIS IMPACTED SO PROFOUNDLY ON REGIONAL POLITICS. FURTHERMORE, INFUSING THESE CONDITIONS WITH RHETORICAL AND SUBSTANTIVE POWER ARE A HOST OF REGIONAL NARRATIVES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA -- DRAWN FROM THE SETTLER STATE ERA, THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE ITSELF AND IMPLICIT IN NEOLIBERAL POLICIES PURSUED BY DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS AFTER INDEPENDENCE -- WHICH HAVE SHAPED PERCEPTIONS AMONG ELITES, SOCIAL GROUPS AND THE WIDER POPULATION. BY EXPOSING THE LINGERING CONTRADICTIONS IN FORMER SETTLER STATES BETWEEN