Regulating Land in Rural Africa: An Institutional, Vulnerability Perspective

Abstract Recent scholarship has focused on socio-economic trends concerning rural degradation, urbanisation and the sustainable use of natural resources. This article draws on these studies to focus on rural Africa, its projected poverty levels, and the institutional role in relation to these estimates. It uses vulnerability theory, progressive property theory and resilient property theory to reframe rural property as an asset of resilience for both communities and the state, arguing that property is being institutionalized across rural Africa to serve political interests, backed by global demands, at the cost of local communities, and their resiliency needs.