The Politics Of Possession

Access to resources is often contested and rife with conflict. This holds particularly true in societies characterized by normative pluralism such as post-colon... » 

Access to resources is often contested and rife with conflict. This holds particularly true in societies characterized by normative pluralism such as post-colonial and post-socialist countries. Access and property are very dynamic because they are joined to questions of power and authority. The process of seeking authorization for property claims works to legitimize the authorizers, and the efforts undertaken by politico-legal institutions to gain legitimacy underpin and undermine various claims of access and property. This book includes some of the latest theoretical work on the dynamics of access, property and authority. Bringing the debate about access and property to speak to issues of power and authority, it also offers a thought-provoking approach to the study of everyday processes of state formation. Its contributions explore the politics of possession from a wide empirical compass of original research spanning Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia and Eastern Europe. «