The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas
Abstract
This book explores why, a decade after Zimbabwean independence, government agricultural development policies still retains surprising similarities with those of the colonial period despite lengthy pea
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Already in 1984, the Zimbabwean state's emphasis had shifted from land redistribution to a focus on internal reforms within the Communal Areas.
“Already in 1984, the state's emphasis had shifted from land redistribution to a focus on internal reforms within the Communal Areas.”
From Land Reform in Southern Africa: Myths, Visions and the Harsh Realities of Development and Justice: Review Essay: Land Reform in Southern Africa (2011) · cites this paper as Drinkwater, 1991
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Scale Mismatches in Social-Ecological Systems: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
Cumming, G. S., Cumming, D. H. M., & Redman, C. L. (2006) · Ecology and Society · doi:10.5751/es-01569-110114 · Cited by 1,140 · see citing works
Moore, D. S. (1993) · Economic Geography · doi:10.2307/143596 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
“The functional and spatial divisions of land uses (arable, grazing, residential) follow closely many of the principles of colonial land use planning actively resisted during the liberation struggle (Ranger 1985; Drinkwater 1991).”
BackgroundDevelopment studies and postcolonial studies: Disparate tales of the 'Third World'
Sylvester, C. (1999) · Third World Quarterly · doi:10.1080/01436599913514 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints
Campbell, B. M., Jeffrey, S., Kozanayi, W., Luckert, M. K., Mutamba, M., & Zindi, C. (2002) · Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) eBooks · doi:10.17528/cifor/001099 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Lipton, M., & Ravallion, M. D. (1995) · Handbook of development economics · doi:10.1016/s1573-4471(95)30018-x · Cited by 166 · see citing works
NGOs and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe: No Magic Bullets
Vivian, J. M. (1994) · Development and Change · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1994.tb00513.x · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Lewis, D., Bebbington, A., Batterbury, S. P. J., Shah, A., Olson, E. A., Siddiqi, M. S., & Duvall, S. (2003) · Journal of International Development · doi:10.1002/jid.1004 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
“…to bring an ethnographic perspective to the development process (Ferguson, 1997; Gardner and Lewis, 1996; Olivier de Sardan, 1995; Rhoades, 1984; Drinkwater, 1991), it is only more recently that this perspective has been brought to bear on development organizations and interventions themselves…”
BackgroundFrom jambanja to planning: the reassertion of technocracy in land reform in south-eastern Zimbabwe?
Chaumba, J., Scoones, I., & Wolmer, W. (2003) · The Journal of Modern African Studies · doi:10.1017/s0022278x03004397 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
“See Alexander 1994, 1996; Drinkwater 1991; Munro 1998; Ranger 1985; Robins 1994; Wolmer & Scoones 2000; Worby 2001a; and cf. Comaroff & Comaroff 1992, and Scott 1998.”
BackgroundTHE STATE AND THE INFORMAL IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN URBAN ECONOMIES: REVISITING DEBATES ON DUALISM
Potts, D. (2007) · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Chibvongodze, D. T. (2016) · Journal of Human Ecology · doi:10.1080/09709274.2016.11906968 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
“Drinkwater (1991) echoes a similar argument stating that the colonial administration of Zimbabwe was bent at discrediting and criminalising the farming methods of the local Shona people.”
BackgroundConditional Belonging: Farm Workers and the Cultural Politics of Recognition in Zimbabwe
Rutherford, B. (2008) · Development and Change · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7660.2008.00469.x · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Zimbabwe's ‘Fast Track’ Land Reform: What about women?
Goebel, A. (2005) · Gender Place & Culture · doi:10.1080/09663690500094799 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“…values for land associated with traditional authorities and culture, and the ‘modern’ development-oriented focus on economic productivity, have characterized the discourse surrounding land reform since the 1980s, as they did in colonial times (Alexander, 1994; Goebel, 1997; Drinkwater, 1991).”
BackgroundThe environmental challenge to the nation‐state: superparks and national parks policy in Zimbabwe
Duffy, R. V. (1997) · Journal of Southern African Studies · doi:10.1080/03057079708708549 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Creating rural livelihoods: Some lessons for South Africa from experience elsewhere
Lipton, M., & Lipton, M. (1993) · World Development · doi:10.1016/0305-750x(93)90130-2 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
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Sylvester, C. (1995) · The Journal of Modern African Studies · doi:10.1017/s0022278x00021182 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
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Rutherford, B. (2018) · Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines · doi:10.1080/00083968.2018.1441037 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“…resettlement was being replaced by land reform in the government’s policies as a greater emphasis was placed on enforcing land-use planning regimes (Moyo 1995, 44ff.) – regimes that were very similar to colonial-era programs in terms of their governmentality logics and techniques (Drinkwater 1991).”
BackgroundMcAllister, G., & Wright, J. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11030790 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Scoones, I. (1997) · Journal of Southern African Studies · doi:10.1080/03057079708708560 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Fontein, J. (2009) · Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Nyambara, P. S. (2000) · Africa · doi:10.3366/afr.2001.71.2.286 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Resettlement revisited: land reform results in resource-poor regions in Zimbabwe
Harts-Broekhuis, A., & Huisman, H. (2001) · Geoforum · doi:10.1016/s0016-7185(00)00032-4 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
The Historiography of Land in Zimbabwe: Strengths, Silences, and Questions
Alexander, J. (2007) · Safundi · doi:10.1080/17533170701370992 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Languages of land, water and ‘tradition’ around Lake Mutirikwi in southern Zimbabwe
Fontein, J. (2006) · The Journal of Modern African Studies · doi:10.1017/s0022278x06001613 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“…Other studies have emphasised the continuities between colonial and post-colonial states by focusing on the bureaucratic rationalisation of space involved in land use planning, environmental conservation and development (Drinkwater 1991; Ferguson 1990; Keeley & Scoones 2000; Werbner 1999).”
BackgroundWho Plugged the Gap? Re-Examining The Woodfuel Crisis in Zimbabwe
Bradley, P. N., & Campbell, B. (1998) · Energy & Environment · doi:10.1177/0958305x9800900302 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Patterns of Science: Developing Knowledge for a World Community at Unesco
Selcer, P. (2011) · ScholarlyCommons (University of Pennsylvania) · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Potts, D. (2011) · Critical African Studies · doi:10.1080/20407211.2011.10530764 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“It is well documented in Zimbabweanist literature that technocratic planning was a crucial characteristic also of rural land use in the African rural areas (Hughes 1974; Duggan 1980; Phimister 1986; Drinkwater 1991; Scoones 1997).”
BackgroundVISIBLE ACTORS AND VISIBLE RESEARCHERS:
Drinkwater, M. J. (1992) · Sociologia Ruralis · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.1992.tb00938.x · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationRutherford, B. (1997) · Journal of Southern African Studies · doi:10.1080/03057079708708525 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
The Application of International Resettlement Policy in African Villagization Projects
Wet, C. D. (2012) · Human Organization · doi:10.17730/humo.71.4.0787k13246877275 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Potts, D., & Mutambirwa, C. C. (1997) · Review of African Political Economy · doi:10.1080/03056249708704281 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The negotiability of state legal and bureaucratic authority during land occupations in Zimbabwe
Chamunogwa, A. R. (2019) · Review of African Political Economy · doi:10.1080/03056244.2019.1609921 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“The government had mostly used its technocratic and bureaucratic institutions to control access to land and to direct land use during the 1980s land resettlement programme (Alexander 1994; Drinkwater 1991; Moore 1999).”
BackgroundThompson, G. (2007) · African Studies · doi:10.1080/00020180701275949 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“The interviews illustrate and expand on themes that have emerged in research in other regions of Zimbabwe (Drinkwater 1991:65–68; Alexander 2000:219–221; Moore 2005:84–85).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSpierenburg, M. (2011) · Development and Change · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7660.2011.01736.x · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“The assumption was that if the farmers in these Communal Areas would ‘rationalize’ and ‘modernize’ their land use methods, they would need less land, and large-scale redistribution could be avoided (Drinkwater, 1991; Spierenburg, 2004).”
BackgroundThe Tragedy of Property: Ecology and Land Tenure in Southeastern Zimbabwe
O'Flaherty, R. M. (2003) · Human Organization · doi:10.17730/humo.62.2.7lekypadvwymwx34 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
CONTEXTUALISING CHRONIC EXCLUSION: FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN SEMI-ARID ZIMBABWE
Huisman, H. (2005) · Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9663.2005.00457.x · Cited by 7 · see citing works
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Spirits and Land Reforms: Conflicts About Land in Dande, Northern Zimbabwe
Spierenburg, M. J. (2005) · Journal of Religion in Africa · doi:10.1163/1570066054024703 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Mandizadza, S. (2010) · University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Institutional Repository on DSpace (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) · Cited by 7 · see citing works
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Law, expertise, and settler conflicts over land in early colonial Zimbabwe, 1890–1923
Mseba, A. (2015) · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · doi:10.1177/0308518x15594807 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“See for example, Alexander (2006), Drinkwater (1991), Lan (1985), Manungo (1991), Moore (2005), Moyana (2002), Munro (1998), Palmer (1977), Phimister (1977, 1988), and Ranger (1985).”
Forced Removal and Social Memories in North-western Zimbabwe,c1900-2000
Marowa, I. (2015) · EPub Bayreuth (University of Bayreuth) · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Transforming rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe : experiences of Fast Track Land Reform, 2000-2012
James, G. D. (2015) · Edinburgh Research Archive (University of Edinburgh) · Cited by 6 · see citing works
U.S. AID, The State, and Food Insecurity in Rural Zimbabwe: the Case of Gokwe
Breslin, E. D. (1994) · The Journal of Modern African Studies · doi:10.1017/s0022278x00012556 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
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Mulale, K. (2005) · doi:10.31274/rtd-180813-16446 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN ZIMBABWE: THE CASE OF MASVINGO PROVINCE
Chidoko, C., & Zhou, S. (2012) · Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences · doi:10.18551/rjoas.2012-11.04 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
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Chadambuka, P., Helliker, K., Chitata, T., Hungwe, C., Majee, S. S., Madanzi, T., Mhindu, R. L., & Masere, T. P. (2026) · Agriculture and Human Values · doi:10.1007/s10460-026-10916-3 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“In Zimbabwe, colonial-era modernisation policies introduced mechanised farming techniques and large-scale land use changes that frequently resulted in environmental degradation and the marginalisation of Indigenous farmers and farming (Drinkwater 1991; Mashapa et al. 2013).”
Review of development research in the UK: Report to the development studies association
Meier, G. M. (1994) · Journal of International Development · doi:10.1002/jid.3380060503 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
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Mulale, K., & Hambira, W. L. (2007) · WIT transactions on ecology and the environment · doi:10.2495/sdp070552
“While Hardin’s [4] hypothesis of the “Tragedy of the Commons” prescribes that communal rangelands ought to be privatized if effective management is to be achieved, studies by Ostrom [5]; Murphree [6]; Drinkwater [7]; Lawry [8]; Murombedzi [9,10] propose the communal proprietorship institutional arrangement as an alter…”
BackgroundTHE IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS ON THE SHONA LIVELIHOOD SYSTEM OF SOUTHEAST ZIMBABWE
Mazzeo, J. (2007) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona)
Chikowore, S. (2014) · ResearchSpace (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Participation as tyranny! : struggle for social control in rural Uganda
Reniers, G. (2011) · Saint Mary's University Institutional Repository (Saint Mary's University)
Zimbabue: el largo camino hacia el año cero
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Zimbabwean Land Redistribution!
Rutherford, B. (2008) · Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks · doi:10.1057/9780230617216_11
'tradition'around Lake Mutirik wi in southern Zimbabwe
Fontein, J. (2006)
Gender Aspekte des lokalen Wissens in Zimbabwe
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Law and Transformation: Remaking the Legal System in Post-colonial Zimbabwe, 1980–1990
Karekwaivanane, G. H. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316996898.007
Introduction: Action! On Reframing Postcolonial Patrimony
Kim, D. D. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-52726-6_1
Land Alienation, Land Struggles and the Rise of Nationalism in Rhodesia
Helliker, K., Bhatasara, S., & Chiweshe, M. K. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66348-3_3
Conversations with Nature Spirits
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- Authors
- Drinkwater, M.
- Corresponding author
- Drinkwater, Michael
- Venue
- Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks
- Publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan UK
- Published
- 1991
- OpenAlex
- W624465809
- Cited by
- 78
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 7.22
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › African studies and sociopolitical issues
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Land Rights and Reforms
- Keywords
- agricultural transformation, communal areas, agricultural development policy, state and agriculture, colonial legacy, post-independence Zimbabwe, land tenure, rural development
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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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