Abstract

This book examines the struggle to control land in Africa through the lens of land titling in Zambia and Senegal. Contrary to standard wisdom portraying titling as an inevitable product of economic development, I trace its distinctly political logic and show how local actors who benefit from informality act to maintain customary property rights. My analysis focuses on the roles of customary institutions and their leaders, “chiefs” or customary authorities. I examine how heterogeneity among customary institutions and the individual’s position within them impact land tenure outcomes. Sub-national comparisons in both countries show that communities with stronger customary institutions —those with hierarchical legacies—are better able to retain control of land rights. Further, I argue that, by structuring social and political relations within communities, customary institutions also condition whether citizens engage with the state through land titling. These findings highlight how local institutions and actors, not state capacity or interests, impact state building outcomes. This book also contributes new insight into our understandings of the political determinants of property rights and the persistence of institutional legacies. Evidence from extensive fieldwork, including more than 175 interviews with chiefs, farmers, and bureaucrats; qualitative case studies of contemporary customary institutions; and multiple datasets of land tenure outcomes in Zambia and Senegal, illustrates how customary institutions influence the expansion of state property rights—even in an era of increasing land scarcity and booming global land markets.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Land Titling as State Building draft available here

Chapter 2: Plot by Plot: Customary Authority and The Incremental Expansion of State Property Rights in Africa

Chapter 3: Why Institutions Matter: A Theory of Collective Costs and Customary Constraints in Land Titling

Chapter 4: The Institutional Foundations of Land Authority in Zambia and Senegal

Chapter 5: The Unofficial Differences Among Official Chiefs in Zambia: Vertical Accountability and Patterns of Land Titling

Chapter 6: Holding Ground in Senegal: Horizontal Accountability, Institutional Legacies, and the Continuation of Customary Property Rights

Chapter 7: Exit or Engagement: How Status within Institutions Impacts Smallholder Titling

Chapter 8: Conclusion: The Resilience of Customary Institutions and Property Rights, Beyond State Design

Abstract

Contents