Max Spoor

2012

Recent Event:

Critical Agrarian Studies Colloquium No. 4 on 11 June 2012 in ISS, The Hague!

2012 is a big year for the study of global land grabbing. After a few years dominated by important reports from NGOs and the media, as well as initial scoping studies from some academics, a big batch of academic studies that are empirically fresh and theoretically rigorous is finally coming out. By June 2012, there will two journal special issues that will be available, namely, ‘Green grabbing: a new appropriation of nature’ (Journal of Peasant Studies), and ‘The new enclosures: critical perspectives on corporate land deals’ (Journal of Peasant Studies). Around middle of the year, the journal Water Alternatives will release its special issue on ‘water grabbing’, and Feminist Economics will come out with a special issue on ‘gender implications of global land grabbing’. Later in the year, the journal Globalizations will release a special issue on ‘land grabbing and global governance’. Another special issue focusing on ‘the role of the State in land grabbing’ is currently under review in Development and Change, and if accepted may come out by October 2012. Geopolitics is releasing a special issue on ‘Geopolitics of Global Food Security’ with significant content on land grabbing. Finally, the Canadian Journal of Development Studies (CJDS) is releasing a special issue on ‘land grabbing in Latin America and the Caribbean’ during the fourth quarter of 2012. Altogether this first batch of academic studies – more or less 100 articles – will offer an important body of knowledge that can (re)shape our further understanding of contemporary global land grabbing and its implications for public action.

It is in this context and for this purpose that the Critical Agrarian Studies Colloquium No. 4 was convened:

Critical Agrarian Studies Colloquium No. 4

Global land grabbing:

towards broader and deeper theoretical and empirical perspectives

A day-long Colloquium

11 June 2012, 9:00 to 18:00 hrs

International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), www.iss.nl

Kortenaerkade 12, 2518AX The Hague, Netherlands

Venue: Attic

 Leading international scholars working on these broad themes, and who have recently guest edited journal special issues or authored key articles on this subject will be present at the Colloquium, including Melissa Leach, James Fairhead, Ian Scoones, Philip McMichael, Philippe le Billon, Esteve Corbera, Lyla Mehta, Gert Jan Velwisch, Wendy Wolford, and several others. The tradition of our Colloquium is to contribute to constructing bridges between academic community, policy experts and activists circles around knowledge production and dissemination. Leading international public intellectuals working around these themes, including Indra Lubis of La Via Campesina (tbc), Sofia Monsalve (FIAN), Nora McKeon, and Sergio Sauer (Brazil) will be at the Colloquium. Participants will also include several authors in the cited special issues. It will continue the Colloquium tradition of being an exciting and productive space for encounter and exchange between academics, activists and policy experts.

 For the Colloquium Programme, please click the ff weblink: http://www.iss.nl/research/networks_and_projects/critical_agrarian_studies_icas/icas_colloquium/

 The Colloquium was jointly organized by ICAS at ISS (www.iss.nl/icas), Inter-Church Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO), Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI, www.iss.nl/ldpi), and the Transnational Institute (TNI, www.tni.org) in collaboration with the Journal of Peasant Studies (www.informaworld.com/jps); Jun Borras, ICAS iss.icas@gmail.com. It was an enormous success, as an estimated 220 (!!) participants were present, nearly all from outside ISS, and many from outside the Netherlands (includin Canada, US, Spain, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, etc.)

Recent Events:

2011

27-28 October 2011: Conference on “Land Accumulation in the Former Soviet Union and Beyond: Global Investors and Local Communities”, organized by The Center for Agricultural Studies, the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Intercenter, theMoscowSchoolof Social and Economic Sciences (Moscow,Russia); Department Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies,RadboudUniversity(Nijmegen, theNetherlands); International Institute of Social Studies ofErasmusUniversity (Rotterdam/The Hague, the Netherlands). (see ProgramMoscowConferenceLandGrabbing).

9/10 December 2011

Interview by Klaas Drupsteen on “Land Grabbing” on Radio 1, NCRV’s program “Casa Luna” (in Dutch), from 00.00-00.45 (see taped interview)

12 December 2011

On the 12th of December a day-long colloquium took place at the International Institute of Social Studies, on “Hunger, Food and (Agro-ecological) Alternatives”, organized by the Initiative for Critical Agrarian Studies (ICAS), at the International Institute of Social Studies, together with LDPI, TNI, and ICCO. The day program is from 9.30-17.45, followed by the 4th public lecture in the ISS/SID (Society for International Development) series on “Agriculture, Rural Employment and Inclusive Growth” (18.00-20.00), given by Dr. Olivier de Schutter, UN Rapporteur for the Right on Food (see 12 Dec 2011 Colloquium ICAS program).