Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


osu1148498881.pdf (1012.57 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Geographies of land restitution in Northern Limpopo: place, territory, and class

Fraser, Alistair
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1148498881

Abstract Details

2006, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Geography.
This dissertation is concerned with the politics and geography of land restitution in northern Limpopo province, South Africa. Restitution is one of three main elements in South Africa’s land reform program, which began in the mid 1990s and is still ongoing. There is a dearth of research on how the government has pursued restitution in northern Limpopo. Little is known about how claims for restitution have been completed; how and why those involved – ranging from white farmers and restitution claimants to government officials – have negotiated the program; or what will be the outcomes of restitution in the research area. Geographers, moreover, have contributed very little to the literature on restitution as a whole. Using qualitative research methods conducted during nine months of fieldwork in northern Limpopo, and examining the program with concepts of place, territory and class in mind, this dissertation addresses some of the shortcomings of the restitution literature. It details three main findings. First, that the government has pursued imaginative, innovative, yet ultimately authoritarian solutions to the challenge of transferring expensive commercial farmland to the rightful owners. The government has drawn upon the resources and technical expertise of white-owned agribusinesses, whose interest in restitution, although still unclear, is certainly driven by a desire to profit from the situation. Second, that many of the white farmers opposing restitution by refusing to sell their farms, do so as a direct result of their class position; that is, as members of the petty bourgeois, they experience restitution differently from the agribusinesses allied with the government. They construct essentialist, racist spatial imaginaries to defend their interests in staying on the land; explain that restitution is doomed to fail; and affect the overall process by standing in the way of the government’s plan. Third, members of one of the ‘communities’ claiming land in the area are far from united about how they intend to share the windfall from restitution. The Ravele claimants are scattered geographically, which has made their involvement in the political process difficult, and which appears to mean they will struggle to access their share of the income from restitution.
Kevin Cox (Advisor)
201 p.
Geography
South Africa; Limpopo Province; Venda; Land reform; Restitution; Neoliberalism; Geography; Territory; Class

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fraser, A. (2006). Geographies of land restitution in Northern Limpopo: place, territory, and class [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1148498881

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fraser, Alistair. Geographies of land restitution in Northern Limpopo: place, territory, and class. 2006. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1148498881.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fraser, Alistair. "Geographies of land restitution in Northern Limpopo: place, territory, and class." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1148498881

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1148498881
1,899
© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.