BRANDEIS JOURNAL OF POLITICS
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    • Letter From the Editors
    • Debt As A Tool Of Inequity
    • A Comparison of Unemployment Insurance In Western Europe & The United States
    • Charter Schools: One Path To The American Dream
    • Re-examining Private Education And Social Inequality In Chile
    • Bargaining Against Americans: How Public Sector Unions Undermine Accountability And Hurt Citizens
    • Could the European Union’s Agricultural Policy Serve as a Framework For US Agricultural Policy
    • Reducing Emissions in Developing Nations
    • No-Excuse Absentee Voting: A Fair Equalizer
    • Abortion Rights: Safeguarding Women’s Liberty
    • Diplomatic Immunity: Outdated, Unethical, And In Need of Reform
  • Archive
    • Letters From the Editor >
      • Fall 2018
      • Spring 2019
    • Sub-Saharan Africa Section >
      • Burgeoning Cities and Suffering Publics: The Lagosian Infrastructure Trade-Off
      • An Explosive Climate: Spiraling Security Politics in the Lake Chad Basin
      • Africa's Digital Advance
      • The Language of Crisis
      • The African Gold Rush
      • Adowa Dance: Black Feminist Practice
      • The Panda’s Approach to Pandemonium: Managing Corruption in Nigeria
      • Student Movements in South Africa: Decolonization, Language, and Racial Justice
      • Foreign Investment in Africa: A Legacy of Unequal Relationships
      • The Politics of Inclusion
      • Uganda: The Politics of Persecution
      • The Politics of Destabilization: Interpreting Al Shabaab’s “Terrorist Attack” in Kenya
      • Senegal's Arduous Path Forward
      • Political Relations with Major Powers
      • A Half-Hearted Commitment to the Central African Republic
      • A Conflict-Free Congo: Can Corporations Revise Their Use of Conflict Minerals?
      • Rituals or Rights? The Politics of Female Genital Modification in Somalia
      • Mali: Tensions Between Islam, Ethnic Differences and the State
      • Manufactured Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa
      • Two Nigerias in Conflict: The Emergence of Boko Haram and its Implications for Nigerian Stability
      • US-Africa Summit: A Turning Point in Relations
      • A Change in Leadership at a Critical Period
      • The African Union and the International Criminal Court: Selective Justice?
      • Is the Fairytale Over For South Africa?
      • Interpreting US AFRICOM Toward a Future of Military Engagement on the African Continent
      • From Decentralization to Secession: Tuareg Rebels and the Quest for Balance in Mali
      • The Dragon's Gold: Chinese Investment in Africa
      • Deconstructing Boko Haram: Institutional Reform on the Path to Peace
      • Oil Money: Ghana’s Economic Considerations in the Global Oil Surplus
      • Protests in Ethiopia
      • Africa's Infrastructure: Leapfrogging the Traditional
    • Americas Section >
      • Three Kinds of Representation: The Case of Argentinian Women in Congress
      • American Military Presence in Okinawa: An Obsolete Endeavor
      • Abolish ICE: A History of the Agency and The New Movement for its Elimination
      • I Don’t Want to Talk About Vietnam”: U.S. Counterinsurgency between Saigon and Baghdad
      • Refugees in Canada: A Closer Look at the Safe Third Country Agreement
      • Sovereignty Under Attack?: The Costa Rican Case
      • Who, When, and How? Social Democracy Awaits in Cuba
      • Ni Una Menos: Twitter's Role in Fighting Femicide in Argentina
      • American Saber-Rattling Not Enough to Destroy Trade Relations with Canada
      • The Beaver and the Dragon: Canada's Strategic Embrace of China
      • Room For Improvement: Macri’s Economic Reforms, Argentine Political History, and the Argentinian Poor’s Protests
      • The More, The Merrier: Democracy, Corruption, and Impunity in Honduras
      • The Problem of Bouterse
      • The Socio-Economic Risk Factors that Culminated in the Zika Virus Outbreak
      • Trump’s Unfettered Populism and What It Could Mean for U.S. Foreign Relations
      • Cyber Attacks and Political Hacks: Implications of the 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment Hack
      • The Past, Present, and Future of the American Immigration System
      • The Path to a Global Internet
      • Threat from the East: China's Pivot to Latin America
      • State of Anarchy: The International Void Created by Maras in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
      • Redefining Cuban Relations: A Closer Look at the End of the Cuban Embargo
      • The Dilemma of Mutual Understanding
      • The End of an Era: The Normalization of U.S.-Cuban Relations
      • Leader by Default: Why the Sun Has Yet to Set on American Global Leadership
      • Colombia and the FARC: Peace at Last?
      • Brazil’s Elections: The Long-Term Implications of a Tight Presidential Race
      • The Enduring Popularity of Rafael Correa and the New Left
      • The Secret Ingredient: Why Drones are Vital to U.S. Hegemony
      • Effects of Snowden’s NSA Leaks on U.S. Foreign Relations
      • The Failure of The United States’ Arab Spring Strategy
      • Apocalypse Postponed: The Enduring Importance of Maintaining the Arms Control Regime
      • Judicial Review or Institutionalized Racism?
      • Negotiating with North Korea: Try and Try Again
      • Celebrating Fifty Years of Diplomatic Gridlock: U.S.-Cuba Relations in 2012
      • Regional Integration and Private Sector Growth in Cuba
      • The Prospects of Slavery Reparations in the Caribbean
      • Protests Reflect Infrastructural Inadequacies in Brazil
      • History in the Making or a Recipe for Disaster? El Salvador’s Gang Truce Examined
      • Debating Iran: Can the United States Make a Deal with the Devil?
      • Priority for 21st Century Defense: A Sustainable U.S. Military Strategy
      • The Rise of Drones in American Foreign Policy
      • From a Dirt Road to a Green Cup: Brazil 2014
      • Leftward Shifts and Power Shifts: Latin America’s Pink Tide
    • Asia-Pacfic Section >
      • No Country for the Rohingya: An Explanation of the Rohingya Refugee Crisis
      • The Future of American Trade Fear in East Asia
      • Entering The Chinese Room: China's Quest to Lead a New World Order
      • A Second Red Wedding: The Complications of Sino-Russian Relations
      • The Break Up: China and North Korea’s Toxic Relationship
      • Instability in the Middle Kingdom: The Shaky Foundations of China's Rise
      • The New Red Scare: An Examination of Cross-Strait Skepticism
      • A Realistic Move: China's New Silk Road
      • The Cost of Voting: How Xi Jinping Simultaneously Increased Democracy and Authoritarianism
      • Fishing For Trouble: The Economic Costs of Conflict in the South China Sea
      • The Danger of the Thucydides Trap: Xi Jinping's Visit to the United States
      • David vs. Goliath: The Philippines-China Arbitration Case
      • Xi's Return to Maoism
      • A Cause for Optimism?: China’s Energy Policy Post-COP21
      • The Show Goes On: Vietnam's Balancing Act
      • Redefining The State: Nationalism and the Push for Constitutional Revision in Japan
      • China’s Resources Policy: Expanding Influence
      • China’s Maritime Strategy: The Pursuit of Regional Dominance
      • China’s Geo-economics: Politics of Inequality
      • China’s Transition of Power: Domestic Struggles for Political Dominance
      • Confrontations Between Tibetan Protestors and the CCP Police Continue
      • 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster and Aftermath
      • Why Would China Want a Democratized Hong Kong?
      • East Asian Regional Integration
      • Stronger Together: A Case for ASEAN Military Integration
      • Capitalism Fights to Survive in China’s Special Administrative Regions
      • China’s Increased Involvement in Afghanistan Divergent from U.S. Wants
      • The Future of the Tibetan Problem
      • The Geopolitical Implications of the Indo-Japanese Abe-Modi Summit
      • Australia Experiences Heightened Degree of Geopolitical Influence U.S. and China Eye Each Other’s Moves in the Asia Pacific
      • Xi Jinping’s AntiCorruption Campaign: Stalinist Purge, or Second Chance for the Chinese Communist Party?
      • South China Sea Territorial Disputes ‘Rock The Boat’ of Regional Security
    • Europe Section >
      • Nominal Interests: A Breakthrough in the Ongoing Name Dispute Between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece
      • The Reinvention of the National Front
      • Democracy in Transition: Hungary's Descent into Authoritarianism
      • (Un)Orthodox Nationalism
      • Something is Rotting in the State of Denmark: Ethnic Nationalism Takes Root in Scandinavia
      • Blood, Oil, and Tears: Azerbaijan's Tradeoff Between Corruption and Growth
      • The Bear Awakens: Russia's Strategy to Sow Chaos in the West
      • Russia’s Return to Religion Signals Changes in Politics and Society, but Not Secularization
      • Spain: The Forgotten Frontier
      • Bye Bye Britain: Euroscepticism Threatens EU Solidarity in June Referendum
      • Europe's Migrant Dumping Ground: Serbia's Refugee Crisis
      • Regional Reconciliation: Evaluating Whether Cuba Will Join the OAS and the Subsequent Implications
      • Has Europe Got Milk?
      • Lifting the Iran Curtain: The Future of Economic Relations Between the EU and Tehran
      • Europe’s Take on the Rising Cost of Healthcare
      • Contrasting Eurozone Economies: The Good, the Bad, and the Corrupt
      • Europe's Take on Income Inequality
      • Russia’s Role in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Sustainer of Peace or Tension?
      • The Failure of Austerity
      • The Rise of Kazakhstan: A Solution for the EU’s Russian Energy Dependence?
      • Scotland After the Independence Referendum
      • Closing the European Security Gap
      • Europe Trading Up: The Strategic Importance of the TTIP
      • The UK to Tighten Immigration Restrictions
      • Old Powers, New Glory: U.K. and France’s Changing Roles in the New European Commission
      • Greece’s Political Pressure Cooker: the Rise of Radicalism
      • Caps Off: Analyzing the EU's Influence on Swiss Immigration Policy
      • Bulgaria and Romania’s Entry into the Schengen Treaty to be Further Postponed
      • Catalan Secession and Subsidiarity
      • The View from Independence Square
      • US-Russian Antagonism Reignited Over Human Rights Policy
      • The Dynamics of the Russia-China Relationship
      • European Action to Limit Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emission
    • Middle East and North Africa Section >
      • Confessionalism, the Rise of Hizbullah, and the May 2018 Elections in Lebanon
      • The Dilemma of Rebuilding the Cultural Heritage of Aleppo
      • Stars and Stripes in the Middle East: American Involvement in the Yemen Civil War
      • Unlikely Bedfellows: Israeli-Saudi Security Ties and the Middle East's Worst Kept Secret
      • The Constructed People: Kurdistan's Challenge to Iraqi Nation-Building
      • Globalism, Nationalism, and the Armenian Diaspora
      • The Turkish Coup Attempt: Was it an Erdogan Hoax?
      • Counterterrorism and Monarchical Power in Morocco
      • State and Familial Prostitution in Egypt
      • Post-Revolution Tunisia: The Challenges of Regional Inequality to the Political Transition
      • Examining Jordan's Influence in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
      • Democracy in Tunisia
      • A Cold Peace: The Future of Egyptian-Israeli Relations
      • Can He Do It? Examining the Significance of Hassan Rouhani Regarding Iranian Relations
      • The Iranian Interim Deal: Perspectives and Implications
      • Transcending the Sunni-Shia Divide; An Overview of Al Qaeda-Iranian Relations
      • Turkey: The Middle East’s “It” Country, or Has It Outgrown Its Fifteen Minutes of Fame?
      • Religious Minorities in the MENA: The Baha'is and Druze in Israel
      • The Invisible Hand Behind the Arab Spring
      • Egypt as a Litmus Test
      • Instability in Yemen: A Rebel Takeover
      • Hitting Home: Understanding the Appeal of the Islamic State in the West
      • Lessons From Afghanistan
      • The Role of the US in Mediating the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
      • The Everlasting Struggle: The Genius of Erdogan’s Political Rhetoric
      • Libya: Before and After the Fall of Muammar Gaddafi
      • Recent NGO Crisis Exposes Divisions in Egyptian Politics
      • The Revolution Will Be Live Streamed: The Role of the Internet in the Arab Spring: The Role of the Internet in the Arab Spring
      • Lebanon to join the Arab Spring?
      • The Persian Gulf and U.S. Strategy: Past and Future
      • Disintigrating Under Pressure: Saudi-U.S. Relations and the Syrian Conflict
      • Assessing the Effectiveness of Micro-finance Institutions in Jordan and Beyond
      • Prosecution, Politics, and Peace: Palestine’s Admittance to the International Criminal Court
    • Central and South Asia Section >
      • GST: India's Largest Economic Reform Since 1992
      • Investing in Kazakhstan: A Model of Chinese Power Acquisition
      • The Rise of Intolerance in India
      • The Past Guiding the Present: How Mongolia’s Soviet Past is Shaping its Development in the 21st Century
      • Will India Choose Israeli Technology or Iranian Oil?
      • The 2014 Indian Elections: The Rise of the BJP
      • Examining Modi's Defense Policy
      • The Indo-U.S. Relationship: Through the Lens of Republic Day
      • Hegemon Games: The Indo-Pak Question
      • Growing Forces: Foreign Investment in Central Asia
      • The Rupee Stumbles – What’s India’s Next Step?
      • The Enemy Behind the Gates: Pakistan's Teetering Talks
      • Indian Foreign Policy: In Search of a Direction
      • The Collapse of the India-Pakistan Talks
      • The Global Race to Myanmar
      • Trade: Is This the Way Ahead for Resolving Outstanding Disputes Between India and Pakistan?
    • Theme Section >
      • Economic Effects of Brexit: Should The UK Leave?
      • Will Demographics Drive China’s Debt Towards Disaster?
      • Using Realpolitik to Understand American Involvement in NATO
      • Security, Money, and Culture: The Role of the WTO in the Resilience of the U.S.-Japan Alliance
      • The Effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Influence, Trade, and Resources
      • The Responsibility to Protect: A Well-Meaning yet Inadequate Solution to the Battle Between Sovereignty and Humanitarian Intervention
      • Disconnecting Dissent: The Dilemma of Privatized Public Speech and Free Information Online
      • Who Owns the Internet?: Control and Mastery of the New Public Sphere
      • Online Community Building: The Emotional, Social, and Political Challenges of Adapting to a New Way of Being Together
      • “The Great Firewall” as an Inefficient Barrier
      • Borderline Open: The Barriers of Schengen
      • The World’s Most Dangerous Border: Refugees in the Mediterranean Are Fighting for Their Lives
      • Overcoming the Physical Barriers of Natural Disasters: Despair and Hope in post-Hurricane Dominica
      • From Past to Present: The Porous Nature of the DRC’s Borders
      • India's Struggle for Gender Equality
      • A False Sense of Protection: Failure of the UN to Address Allegations of Sexual Assault Against Peacekeepers
      • Scapegoats of Politics: How the Malaysian Transgender Community Fell Victim to the Politicization of Islam
      • Adversity and Perseverance: The Story of Bangladesh's Garment Worker
      • "Bye, Honey!": Brazilian Women Fight for Their Rights After Dilma Rousseff's Impeachment
      • Mexico's Unstable Democracy: Self-Defense Groups, Cartels, and the Struggle Over the Rule of Law
      • Obama to Trump: Immigration Policy Rhetoric and Resistance
      • Translating Democratic Theory into Constitutional Design: A Conversation with Professor Jefferey A. Lenowitz
      • The Reign In Spain: Analyzing the Catalan Threat to European Democratic Order
      • Reaching for the Sky: The New Age of Connection in Sri Lanka
      • The Battle for Ukraine
      • North Korea’s Strategy of Escalating Threats and Its Problems
      • Accusations of Pinkwashing in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
      • Economies in Transformation, A Continent in Transition
      • The Dynastic Dictatorship Continued: The Internal Dynamics of North Korea and What to Expect From the New Leader
      • Russia's Gas Diplomacy
      • The "Oldest Profession" Organizes: A Conversation with Professor Gowri Vijayakumar
      • An Amazonian Legacy of Military Rule
      • Soldiers of Destiny, Deferred: Marriage Equality and Reproductive Rights in Irish Politics
      • A Tale of Two Courts: Why Chinese Capitalism Does Not Come With the Rule of Law
      • A Failure to Rise to the Occasion: Syria and the Future of “Responsibility to Protect”
      • South Sudan: Democracy Or Despair
      • Protests and Repression in a Digital Age
      • Wiping the Slate Clean: Modi's Water Conundrum
      • Increasing Oil Production: A Sound Approach to Achieving U.S. Energy Independence?
      • Water's Influence on Middle Eastern Policy: A Conversation with Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Allaban
      • A New Era for the Nile: The Effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
      • Getting Past the Green Monster: An Analysis of Germany's Energy Transition
      • Theme Section Graphics
      • The African Union and a New Scramble: A Continent in Transition
      • Regional Perspectives
      • Pervasive Issues in China's Continued Urbanization
      • Art, Power, Politics, and Protest in Saudi Arabia
      • Should Europe Brace Itself for Brexit
      • Energy Analysis
      • Composition & Organs
      • African Union Timeline
      • The Rohingya Refugee Crisis
      • Interview with Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor in Korean Studies
      • A Historical and Political Understanding of Aid: The Implications and Conditions of Aid Packages
      • Park Geun-hye’s “New Kind of Korea” Prospects for Re-envisioned Inter-Korean Relations
      • Interview with Professor Nyangoni
      • Interview With Professor Padraig Carmody of Trinity College of Dublin, Author of The New Scramble for Africa
      • Timeline of U.S. Refugee Resettlement
      • A closer look into North Korea
      • How Does North Korea Stack Up?
      • According to the Expert: Interview With Professor Eva Bellin
      • Fulfilling an Ideological Destiny? An Insight into United States Policy Regarding the Syrian Conflict
      • PIS Off: Polish Women Mobilize to Reject Tightening of Abortion Restrictions
      • Brain Drain in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Downside of Migration
      • Grand Master and Pawns: Looking at the United States and Russia
      • In Putin’s Element: Why the U.S. Needs to Let Russia Take the Lead in Destroying Syria’s Chemical Weapons
      • In Syria, It’s the End of the Line
      • Greenback Boogie: The Story of Remittances from Central Asian Immigrants in Russia
      • Regional Perspectives
      • The EU as a Passive Actor
      • In Search of Home: The Impact of Syrian Refugees on the International Community
      • Vladimir Putin: The New Leader of the Free World?
      • Modi's Pakistan Strategy
      • Resistance Infographic
      • Mexico's Other Border: Human Rights Abuses of the Trans-North American Migrant Crisis
      • Most Significant Refugee Producing Countries
      • Syrian Conflict Statistics
      • The View From Moscow: Contention and Cooperation in the Middle East
      • A Discussion of the EU with Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
      • EU Timeline
      • Turkey's Membership in the EU: A Holy Venture?
      • Al-Shabaab and the Threats Posed to International Peace and Security
      • Interview with Professor Robert J. Art
      • Instability and Nationalism: Why Ecuador's Colombian Refugees Face Discrimination
      • ISIS Timeline
      • Interview with Professor Gary Jefferson
      • Contemporary Cyber-Terrorism
      • ISIS’ Rise to Prominence and Implications for the Future: A Conversation with Ambassador Dennis Ross
      • Qatar: An Uncertain Ally Against IS
      • Red to Pink: The Continued Evolution of the Chinese Internet Space
      • Russia’s Separatist Subversions: Return of the Steamroller, or Running Out of Steam?
      • Shifting Sands: Arab Tacit Support of Israel during the Recent Gaza Conflict
      • North Korea’s Other Crisis
      • China’s Korean Dilemma
      • State-Sponsored Separatism: the Specter of Russian Influence in Post-Revolution Ukraine
      • The Iraqi Crisis: The Effects of Sectarian Politics and Religious Divides
      • The Islamic State and the Rise of Western Jihadism: Interview with Professor Jytte Klausen
      • Regions Under Threat By Global Climate Change
    • Afro and African American Studies >
      • Malcolm X: A Misunderstood Legacy
    • Sociology >
      • The Implications of the Melting Pot: Examining the Political Socialization Process for Children of Immigrants
      • The Modern WelfareWarfare Nexus
    • Economics >
      • The Demise of Middle-Class America: Corporate-Performance Focused Development, Automation, and the Middle-Class Squeeze
      • Equity and Efficiency: Reconsidering the “Big Tradeoff”
      • Low Cost Carriers and the Future of Air Travel in Asia
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Manufactured Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa 
       by Jesse Koklas

            Sub-Saharan Africa has a higher percentage of its land tied up in “land grab” deals than any other region in the world, and the DRC most noticeably with nearly 50% of its land subject to such arrangements. 70% of all land grabs in the world are concentrated in this region. Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions in developing nations by governments, individuals, and most often multinational corporations. The land acquisition most often takes the form of longterm leases rather than outright purchases, but the term of a lease could last for up to 99 years, according to Obang Metho of Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia. While this has been occurring for some time now, “land grabbing” today primarily refers to the large-scale land acquisitions following the 2007-2008 World Food Price Crisis, when developed nations looked for ways to soothe worries of food insecurity in their own countries. These countries saw opportunity to own or operate a piece of Africa’s vast resource of land, in some cases at absurdly low prices, from countries that welcomed any investment as a beneficial one.

              The World Food Price Crisis of 2007-08 affected developed and developing countries all over the world. The high levels of inflation caused noticeable economic instability, which led to political instability and much rioting, particularly in developing nations. The earlier spike in prices, in late 2006, were linked to droughts in oil producing countries, whose higher oil prices set off a chain-reaction of rising prices- in fertilizers, transportation costs, industrial agriculture, and other costs associated with the production, distribution and exchange of food. However, the long term causes of the 2007-2008 price increases are subject to much debate, and the actual causes go back much further than 2006. Regardless, because the financial crisis affected virtually every country, many sought to protect their people from price shock through the acquisition of millions of hectares of land from Africa, as well as Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. Gulf States like Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are rich in capital yet poor in the resource of agricultural land, and so depend heavily on imports for food.

            Land grabs in developing countries began when governments sought to stimulate investment and capital injection in arable land. They wanted to stimulate growth in their countries, and the simplest way to do this was to invite foreign investors to come in and develop the land at a minimal price. Since the government saw the development of the land as an immense benefit for their country, the foreign entities were not only charged a minimal price for the land, but were of en offered incentives such as housing, labor with no minimum wage restrictions, tax breaks, and unrestricted rights to everything they produced (often cash crops or biofuels) which were consequently exported to their country of origin. Additionally, when the exports were fully manufactured into finished products, the finished products were often sold back to the developing countries at prices far exceeding those of the original exports. Since their independence, the default of land ownership in many African countries has been public ownership, thereby giving the government full authority to lease or sell as they see fit. Although the governments began this practice as a means of developing their countries, the amount of leases and sales to foreign corporations and governments has escalated to such a level where it is helping the foreign countries while continuously disadvantaging the African ones. In a 2010 report, the World Bank estimated that over 46 million hectares (about 250,000 square miles) in large-scale farmland acquisitions or negotiations were announced in October 2008-August 2009 alone, with two-thirds of demanded and purchased land concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the World Bank’s 464 examined acquisitions, only 203 included land area in their reports. This implies that the actual total land tied up in this type of arrangement could be much more than its estimated 46 million hectares. In fact, at The International Conference on Global Land Grabbing in April 2011 held by the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) at the University of Sussex, reports estimated the area of land deals at over 80 million hectares; almost double the findings of the World Bank. In the Sudan, where the World Food Program fed 5.6 million people in 2008, we can see how deals of this nature occur; the government, pushed by the World Bank, believes it is better than no development at all, and foreign investors are particularly attracted to the country for its several relatively water-rich areas. However, these types of deals occur even without the knowledge of the government. In a particularly unsettling example in 2009, Jarch Capital, a US-based private investment firm leased 400,000 hectares of South Sudanese land- not from the government, but from a Sudanese warlord whose son had simply claimed the territory. In Brazil, there have been examples of actual “grab” situations, when the government and illegal loggers go into areas of the Amazon and violently push out the inhabitants in order to lease the land for foreign companies.

              The main issue is that what is being produced on these lands is not going to the people who live there. They are not getting nearly enough food, and food insecurity is a way of life. This is not because there is not enough food there; it is because the food that is produced leaves the country to feed the rest of the world, while those at home are left wanting. Cash crops are the most profitable for foreign investors, and so they produce tea, coffee, and sugar cane, to name a few- all things that cannot feed the people who work and live in these countries. In Mozambique, land deals cover over 21% of agricultural area, and cane sugar is the most common crop on these lands. In one particular community, a great deal of land was transferred to Illovo to build one such farm. The company denied irrigation water to community members who refused to participate in the cane sugar production, and poisoned the soil for local famers by spraying pesticides. This illustrates the power that land grab deals gives to foreign investors, and how it cripples local ventures. This system enforces reliance on foreign investors, takes away the profits of the land from its people and exports them elsewhere, and inhibits the empowerment of local people. In effect, the practice of land grabbing in sub-Saharan Africa is so prevalent, that it prevents the countries from overcoming poverty and hunger, and severely restricts the possibility of development and economic growth.

              Africa is not short on resources. Many countries have natural resources of gas, oil, and elements below their surface, yet much remains untapped or in the hands of foreign companies. In addition, many countries have an abundance of arable land that is not being used effectively in order to benefit the people by alleviating hunger. The World Bank and the IMF encourage land grab deals, as they push for as minimal government intervention and regulation as possible. Land grabs lead to food insecurity, which leads to food riots and rebellions, which contribute to unstable governments. If this system is not altered, the dire problem of widespread food insecurity will not be solved. The people must be given sovereignty over their own food production, and the terms of this production must not be dictated by foreign entities. This means more government regulation, and establishment of parastatels- government businesses that will provide job opportunities and sustainable development. If governments are unwilling to make these changes in order to feed their people, the people must offer resistance. Developing countries must lessen their dependence on other nations, and take their development into their own hands.





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    • Letter From the Editors
    • Debt As A Tool Of Inequity
    • A Comparison of Unemployment Insurance In Western Europe & The United States
    • Charter Schools: One Path To The American Dream
    • Re-examining Private Education And Social Inequality In Chile
    • Bargaining Against Americans: How Public Sector Unions Undermine Accountability And Hurt Citizens
    • Could the European Union’s Agricultural Policy Serve as a Framework For US Agricultural Policy
    • Reducing Emissions in Developing Nations
    • No-Excuse Absentee Voting: A Fair Equalizer
    • Abortion Rights: Safeguarding Women’s Liberty
    • Diplomatic Immunity: Outdated, Unethical, And In Need of Reform
  • Archive
    • Letters From the Editor >
      • Fall 2018
      • Spring 2019
    • Sub-Saharan Africa Section >
      • Burgeoning Cities and Suffering Publics: The Lagosian Infrastructure Trade-Off
      • An Explosive Climate: Spiraling Security Politics in the Lake Chad Basin
      • Africa's Digital Advance
      • The Language of Crisis
      • The African Gold Rush
      • Adowa Dance: Black Feminist Practice
      • The Panda’s Approach to Pandemonium: Managing Corruption in Nigeria
      • Student Movements in South Africa: Decolonization, Language, and Racial Justice
      • Foreign Investment in Africa: A Legacy of Unequal Relationships
      • The Politics of Inclusion
      • Uganda: The Politics of Persecution
      • The Politics of Destabilization: Interpreting Al Shabaab’s “Terrorist Attack” in Kenya
      • Senegal's Arduous Path Forward
      • Political Relations with Major Powers
      • A Half-Hearted Commitment to the Central African Republic
      • A Conflict-Free Congo: Can Corporations Revise Their Use of Conflict Minerals?
      • Rituals or Rights? The Politics of Female Genital Modification in Somalia
      • Mali: Tensions Between Islam, Ethnic Differences and the State
      • Manufactured Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa
      • Two Nigerias in Conflict: The Emergence of Boko Haram and its Implications for Nigerian Stability
      • US-Africa Summit: A Turning Point in Relations
      • A Change in Leadership at a Critical Period
      • The African Union and the International Criminal Court: Selective Justice?
      • Is the Fairytale Over For South Africa?
      • Interpreting US AFRICOM Toward a Future of Military Engagement on the African Continent
      • From Decentralization to Secession: Tuareg Rebels and the Quest for Balance in Mali
      • The Dragon's Gold: Chinese Investment in Africa
      • Deconstructing Boko Haram: Institutional Reform on the Path to Peace
      • Oil Money: Ghana’s Economic Considerations in the Global Oil Surplus
      • Protests in Ethiopia
      • Africa's Infrastructure: Leapfrogging the Traditional
    • Americas Section >
      • Three Kinds of Representation: The Case of Argentinian Women in Congress
      • American Military Presence in Okinawa: An Obsolete Endeavor
      • Abolish ICE: A History of the Agency and The New Movement for its Elimination
      • I Don’t Want to Talk About Vietnam”: U.S. Counterinsurgency between Saigon and Baghdad
      • Refugees in Canada: A Closer Look at the Safe Third Country Agreement
      • Sovereignty Under Attack?: The Costa Rican Case
      • Who, When, and How? Social Democracy Awaits in Cuba
      • Ni Una Menos: Twitter's Role in Fighting Femicide in Argentina
      • American Saber-Rattling Not Enough to Destroy Trade Relations with Canada
      • The Beaver and the Dragon: Canada's Strategic Embrace of China
      • Room For Improvement: Macri’s Economic Reforms, Argentine Political History, and the Argentinian Poor’s Protests
      • The More, The Merrier: Democracy, Corruption, and Impunity in Honduras
      • The Problem of Bouterse
      • The Socio-Economic Risk Factors that Culminated in the Zika Virus Outbreak
      • Trump’s Unfettered Populism and What It Could Mean for U.S. Foreign Relations
      • Cyber Attacks and Political Hacks: Implications of the 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment Hack
      • The Past, Present, and Future of the American Immigration System
      • The Path to a Global Internet
      • Threat from the East: China's Pivot to Latin America
      • State of Anarchy: The International Void Created by Maras in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
      • Redefining Cuban Relations: A Closer Look at the End of the Cuban Embargo
      • The Dilemma of Mutual Understanding
      • The End of an Era: The Normalization of U.S.-Cuban Relations
      • Leader by Default: Why the Sun Has Yet to Set on American Global Leadership
      • Colombia and the FARC: Peace at Last?
      • Brazil’s Elections: The Long-Term Implications of a Tight Presidential Race
      • The Enduring Popularity of Rafael Correa and the New Left
      • The Secret Ingredient: Why Drones are Vital to U.S. Hegemony
      • Effects of Snowden’s NSA Leaks on U.S. Foreign Relations
      • The Failure of The United States’ Arab Spring Strategy
      • Apocalypse Postponed: The Enduring Importance of Maintaining the Arms Control Regime
      • Judicial Review or Institutionalized Racism?
      • Negotiating with North Korea: Try and Try Again
      • Celebrating Fifty Years of Diplomatic Gridlock: U.S.-Cuba Relations in 2012
      • Regional Integration and Private Sector Growth in Cuba
      • The Prospects of Slavery Reparations in the Caribbean
      • Protests Reflect Infrastructural Inadequacies in Brazil
      • History in the Making or a Recipe for Disaster? El Salvador’s Gang Truce Examined
      • Debating Iran: Can the United States Make a Deal with the Devil?
      • Priority for 21st Century Defense: A Sustainable U.S. Military Strategy
      • The Rise of Drones in American Foreign Policy
      • From a Dirt Road to a Green Cup: Brazil 2014
      • Leftward Shifts and Power Shifts: Latin America’s Pink Tide
    • Asia-Pacfic Section >
      • No Country for the Rohingya: An Explanation of the Rohingya Refugee Crisis
      • The Future of American Trade Fear in East Asia
      • Entering The Chinese Room: China's Quest to Lead a New World Order
      • A Second Red Wedding: The Complications of Sino-Russian Relations
      • The Break Up: China and North Korea’s Toxic Relationship
      • Instability in the Middle Kingdom: The Shaky Foundations of China's Rise
      • The New Red Scare: An Examination of Cross-Strait Skepticism
      • A Realistic Move: China's New Silk Road
      • The Cost of Voting: How Xi Jinping Simultaneously Increased Democracy and Authoritarianism
      • Fishing For Trouble: The Economic Costs of Conflict in the South China Sea
      • The Danger of the Thucydides Trap: Xi Jinping's Visit to the United States
      • David vs. Goliath: The Philippines-China Arbitration Case
      • Xi's Return to Maoism
      • A Cause for Optimism?: China’s Energy Policy Post-COP21
      • The Show Goes On: Vietnam's Balancing Act
      • Redefining The State: Nationalism and the Push for Constitutional Revision in Japan
      • China’s Resources Policy: Expanding Influence
      • China’s Maritime Strategy: The Pursuit of Regional Dominance
      • China’s Geo-economics: Politics of Inequality
      • China’s Transition of Power: Domestic Struggles for Political Dominance
      • Confrontations Between Tibetan Protestors and the CCP Police Continue
      • 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster and Aftermath
      • Why Would China Want a Democratized Hong Kong?
      • East Asian Regional Integration
      • Stronger Together: A Case for ASEAN Military Integration
      • Capitalism Fights to Survive in China’s Special Administrative Regions
      • China’s Increased Involvement in Afghanistan Divergent from U.S. Wants
      • The Future of the Tibetan Problem
      • The Geopolitical Implications of the Indo-Japanese Abe-Modi Summit
      • Australia Experiences Heightened Degree of Geopolitical Influence U.S. and China Eye Each Other’s Moves in the Asia Pacific
      • Xi Jinping’s AntiCorruption Campaign: Stalinist Purge, or Second Chance for the Chinese Communist Party?
      • South China Sea Territorial Disputes ‘Rock The Boat’ of Regional Security
    • Europe Section >
      • Nominal Interests: A Breakthrough in the Ongoing Name Dispute Between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece
      • The Reinvention of the National Front
      • Democracy in Transition: Hungary's Descent into Authoritarianism
      • (Un)Orthodox Nationalism
      • Something is Rotting in the State of Denmark: Ethnic Nationalism Takes Root in Scandinavia
      • Blood, Oil, and Tears: Azerbaijan's Tradeoff Between Corruption and Growth
      • The Bear Awakens: Russia's Strategy to Sow Chaos in the West
      • Russia’s Return to Religion Signals Changes in Politics and Society, but Not Secularization
      • Spain: The Forgotten Frontier
      • Bye Bye Britain: Euroscepticism Threatens EU Solidarity in June Referendum
      • Europe's Migrant Dumping Ground: Serbia's Refugee Crisis
      • Regional Reconciliation: Evaluating Whether Cuba Will Join the OAS and the Subsequent Implications
      • Has Europe Got Milk?
      • Lifting the Iran Curtain: The Future of Economic Relations Between the EU and Tehran
      • Europe’s Take on the Rising Cost of Healthcare
      • Contrasting Eurozone Economies: The Good, the Bad, and the Corrupt
      • Europe's Take on Income Inequality
      • Russia’s Role in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Sustainer of Peace or Tension?
      • The Failure of Austerity
      • The Rise of Kazakhstan: A Solution for the EU’s Russian Energy Dependence?
      • Scotland After the Independence Referendum
      • Closing the European Security Gap
      • Europe Trading Up: The Strategic Importance of the TTIP
      • The UK to Tighten Immigration Restrictions
      • Old Powers, New Glory: U.K. and France’s Changing Roles in the New European Commission
      • Greece’s Political Pressure Cooker: the Rise of Radicalism
      • Caps Off: Analyzing the EU's Influence on Swiss Immigration Policy
      • Bulgaria and Romania’s Entry into the Schengen Treaty to be Further Postponed
      • Catalan Secession and Subsidiarity
      • The View from Independence Square
      • US-Russian Antagonism Reignited Over Human Rights Policy
      • The Dynamics of the Russia-China Relationship
      • European Action to Limit Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emission
    • Middle East and North Africa Section >
      • Confessionalism, the Rise of Hizbullah, and the May 2018 Elections in Lebanon
      • The Dilemma of Rebuilding the Cultural Heritage of Aleppo
      • Stars and Stripes in the Middle East: American Involvement in the Yemen Civil War
      • Unlikely Bedfellows: Israeli-Saudi Security Ties and the Middle East's Worst Kept Secret
      • The Constructed People: Kurdistan's Challenge to Iraqi Nation-Building
      • Globalism, Nationalism, and the Armenian Diaspora
      • The Turkish Coup Attempt: Was it an Erdogan Hoax?
      • Counterterrorism and Monarchical Power in Morocco
      • State and Familial Prostitution in Egypt
      • Post-Revolution Tunisia: The Challenges of Regional Inequality to the Political Transition
      • Examining Jordan's Influence in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
      • Democracy in Tunisia
      • A Cold Peace: The Future of Egyptian-Israeli Relations
      • Can He Do It? Examining the Significance of Hassan Rouhani Regarding Iranian Relations
      • The Iranian Interim Deal: Perspectives and Implications
      • Transcending the Sunni-Shia Divide; An Overview of Al Qaeda-Iranian Relations
      • Turkey: The Middle East’s “It” Country, or Has It Outgrown Its Fifteen Minutes of Fame?
      • Religious Minorities in the MENA: The Baha'is and Druze in Israel
      • The Invisible Hand Behind the Arab Spring
      • Egypt as a Litmus Test
      • Instability in Yemen: A Rebel Takeover
      • Hitting Home: Understanding the Appeal of the Islamic State in the West
      • Lessons From Afghanistan
      • The Role of the US in Mediating the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
      • The Everlasting Struggle: The Genius of Erdogan’s Political Rhetoric
      • Libya: Before and After the Fall of Muammar Gaddafi
      • Recent NGO Crisis Exposes Divisions in Egyptian Politics
      • The Revolution Will Be Live Streamed: The Role of the Internet in the Arab Spring: The Role of the Internet in the Arab Spring
      • Lebanon to join the Arab Spring?
      • The Persian Gulf and U.S. Strategy: Past and Future
      • Disintigrating Under Pressure: Saudi-U.S. Relations and the Syrian Conflict
      • Assessing the Effectiveness of Micro-finance Institutions in Jordan and Beyond
      • Prosecution, Politics, and Peace: Palestine’s Admittance to the International Criminal Court
    • Central and South Asia Section >
      • GST: India's Largest Economic Reform Since 1992
      • Investing in Kazakhstan: A Model of Chinese Power Acquisition
      • The Rise of Intolerance in India
      • The Past Guiding the Present: How Mongolia’s Soviet Past is Shaping its Development in the 21st Century
      • Will India Choose Israeli Technology or Iranian Oil?
      • The 2014 Indian Elections: The Rise of the BJP
      • Examining Modi's Defense Policy
      • The Indo-U.S. Relationship: Through the Lens of Republic Day
      • Hegemon Games: The Indo-Pak Question
      • Growing Forces: Foreign Investment in Central Asia
      • The Rupee Stumbles – What’s India’s Next Step?
      • The Enemy Behind the Gates: Pakistan's Teetering Talks
      • Indian Foreign Policy: In Search of a Direction
      • The Collapse of the India-Pakistan Talks
      • The Global Race to Myanmar
      • Trade: Is This the Way Ahead for Resolving Outstanding Disputes Between India and Pakistan?
    • Theme Section >
      • Economic Effects of Brexit: Should The UK Leave?
      • Will Demographics Drive China’s Debt Towards Disaster?
      • Using Realpolitik to Understand American Involvement in NATO
      • Security, Money, and Culture: The Role of the WTO in the Resilience of the U.S.-Japan Alliance
      • The Effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Influence, Trade, and Resources
      • The Responsibility to Protect: A Well-Meaning yet Inadequate Solution to the Battle Between Sovereignty and Humanitarian Intervention
      • Disconnecting Dissent: The Dilemma of Privatized Public Speech and Free Information Online
      • Who Owns the Internet?: Control and Mastery of the New Public Sphere
      • Online Community Building: The Emotional, Social, and Political Challenges of Adapting to a New Way of Being Together
      • “The Great Firewall” as an Inefficient Barrier
      • Borderline Open: The Barriers of Schengen
      • The World’s Most Dangerous Border: Refugees in the Mediterranean Are Fighting for Their Lives
      • Overcoming the Physical Barriers of Natural Disasters: Despair and Hope in post-Hurricane Dominica
      • From Past to Present: The Porous Nature of the DRC’s Borders
      • India's Struggle for Gender Equality
      • A False Sense of Protection: Failure of the UN to Address Allegations of Sexual Assault Against Peacekeepers
      • Scapegoats of Politics: How the Malaysian Transgender Community Fell Victim to the Politicization of Islam
      • Adversity and Perseverance: The Story of Bangladesh's Garment Worker
      • "Bye, Honey!": Brazilian Women Fight for Their Rights After Dilma Rousseff's Impeachment
      • Mexico's Unstable Democracy: Self-Defense Groups, Cartels, and the Struggle Over the Rule of Law
      • Obama to Trump: Immigration Policy Rhetoric and Resistance
      • Translating Democratic Theory into Constitutional Design: A Conversation with Professor Jefferey A. Lenowitz
      • The Reign In Spain: Analyzing the Catalan Threat to European Democratic Order
      • Reaching for the Sky: The New Age of Connection in Sri Lanka
      • The Battle for Ukraine
      • North Korea’s Strategy of Escalating Threats and Its Problems
      • Accusations of Pinkwashing in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
      • Economies in Transformation, A Continent in Transition
      • The Dynastic Dictatorship Continued: The Internal Dynamics of North Korea and What to Expect From the New Leader
      • Russia's Gas Diplomacy
      • The "Oldest Profession" Organizes: A Conversation with Professor Gowri Vijayakumar
      • An Amazonian Legacy of Military Rule
      • Soldiers of Destiny, Deferred: Marriage Equality and Reproductive Rights in Irish Politics
      • A Tale of Two Courts: Why Chinese Capitalism Does Not Come With the Rule of Law
      • A Failure to Rise to the Occasion: Syria and the Future of “Responsibility to Protect”
      • South Sudan: Democracy Or Despair
      • Protests and Repression in a Digital Age
      • Wiping the Slate Clean: Modi's Water Conundrum
      • Increasing Oil Production: A Sound Approach to Achieving U.S. Energy Independence?
      • Water's Influence on Middle Eastern Policy: A Conversation with Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Allaban
      • A New Era for the Nile: The Effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
      • Getting Past the Green Monster: An Analysis of Germany's Energy Transition
      • Theme Section Graphics
      • The African Union and a New Scramble: A Continent in Transition
      • Regional Perspectives
      • Pervasive Issues in China's Continued Urbanization
      • Art, Power, Politics, and Protest in Saudi Arabia
      • Should Europe Brace Itself for Brexit
      • Energy Analysis
      • Composition & Organs
      • African Union Timeline
      • The Rohingya Refugee Crisis
      • Interview with Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor in Korean Studies
      • A Historical and Political Understanding of Aid: The Implications and Conditions of Aid Packages
      • Park Geun-hye’s “New Kind of Korea” Prospects for Re-envisioned Inter-Korean Relations
      • Interview with Professor Nyangoni
      • Interview With Professor Padraig Carmody of Trinity College of Dublin, Author of The New Scramble for Africa
      • Timeline of U.S. Refugee Resettlement
      • A closer look into North Korea
      • How Does North Korea Stack Up?
      • According to the Expert: Interview With Professor Eva Bellin
      • Fulfilling an Ideological Destiny? An Insight into United States Policy Regarding the Syrian Conflict
      • PIS Off: Polish Women Mobilize to Reject Tightening of Abortion Restrictions
      • Brain Drain in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Downside of Migration
      • Grand Master and Pawns: Looking at the United States and Russia
      • In Putin’s Element: Why the U.S. Needs to Let Russia Take the Lead in Destroying Syria’s Chemical Weapons
      • In Syria, It’s the End of the Line
      • Greenback Boogie: The Story of Remittances from Central Asian Immigrants in Russia
      • Regional Perspectives
      • The EU as a Passive Actor
      • In Search of Home: The Impact of Syrian Refugees on the International Community
      • Vladimir Putin: The New Leader of the Free World?
      • Modi's Pakistan Strategy
      • Resistance Infographic
      • Mexico's Other Border: Human Rights Abuses of the Trans-North American Migrant Crisis
      • Most Significant Refugee Producing Countries
      • Syrian Conflict Statistics
      • The View From Moscow: Contention and Cooperation in the Middle East
      • A Discussion of the EU with Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
      • EU Timeline
      • Turkey's Membership in the EU: A Holy Venture?
      • Al-Shabaab and the Threats Posed to International Peace and Security
      • Interview with Professor Robert J. Art
      • Instability and Nationalism: Why Ecuador's Colombian Refugees Face Discrimination
      • ISIS Timeline
      • Interview with Professor Gary Jefferson
      • Contemporary Cyber-Terrorism
      • ISIS’ Rise to Prominence and Implications for the Future: A Conversation with Ambassador Dennis Ross
      • Qatar: An Uncertain Ally Against IS
      • Red to Pink: The Continued Evolution of the Chinese Internet Space
      • Russia’s Separatist Subversions: Return of the Steamroller, or Running Out of Steam?
      • Shifting Sands: Arab Tacit Support of Israel during the Recent Gaza Conflict
      • North Korea’s Other Crisis
      • China’s Korean Dilemma
      • State-Sponsored Separatism: the Specter of Russian Influence in Post-Revolution Ukraine
      • The Iraqi Crisis: The Effects of Sectarian Politics and Religious Divides
      • The Islamic State and the Rise of Western Jihadism: Interview with Professor Jytte Klausen
      • Regions Under Threat By Global Climate Change
    • Afro and African American Studies >
      • Malcolm X: A Misunderstood Legacy
    • Sociology >
      • The Implications of the Melting Pot: Examining the Political Socialization Process for Children of Immigrants
      • The Modern WelfareWarfare Nexus
    • Economics >
      • The Demise of Middle-Class America: Corporate-Performance Focused Development, Automation, and the Middle-Class Squeeze
      • Equity and Efficiency: Reconsidering the “Big Tradeoff”
      • Low Cost Carriers and the Future of Air Travel in Asia
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