Focuses on struggles to secure and defend the land rights of the poor in Africa. A very brief introduction sketches the impact of liberalisation on land in Africa, then looks at the deeper context of land reform, and at the current role of donors. Goes on to look at detailed case studies of Uganda, Mozambique and South Africa and examines reasons for successes and failures of pro-poor land struggles in those countries. Concludes by focusing on the issue of redistribution in Southern Africa.

Published in Journal fur Entwicklungspolitik (Austrian Journal of Development Studies), XIX, 1, 2003, 6-21. This was part of a special edition devoted to land reform in Africa edited by Birgit Englert and Walter Schicho.