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Territories of Resistance: Agroecology as Alternative(s) to Development. A Case Study of (Re)peasantisation in the City of Cape Town, South Africa

Tamlit, Alistair LU (2014) MIDM19 20141
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
Development, with its links to capitalism and Western conceptions of progress, is both impossible to achieve and restricts possibilities of other socially and ecologically just worlds. Neoliberal development has long been promoted in agriculture, leading to corporate concentration and is perpetuated under food security discourses. In South Africa, this maintains apartheid racial inequalities. Alternative discourses and practices have emerged in the form of agroecology and food sovereignty, which have been adopted by actors both internationally and in South Africa. Discourse is one form of power in society, which has material implications. The concept of territories, as socially constructed spaces mediated by power relations, is therefore... (More)
Development, with its links to capitalism and Western conceptions of progress, is both impossible to achieve and restricts possibilities of other socially and ecologically just worlds. Neoliberal development has long been promoted in agriculture, leading to corporate concentration and is perpetuated under food security discourses. In South Africa, this maintains apartheid racial inequalities. Alternative discourses and practices have emerged in the form of agroecology and food sovereignty, which have been adopted by actors both internationally and in South Africa. Discourse is one form of power in society, which has material implications. The concept of territories, as socially constructed spaces mediated by power relations, is therefore one way to conceptualise the impact of discourses. In this study, therefore, I explore how agroecological territories can challenge development within Cape Town. I find that there are competing discourses relating to both agroecology and entrepreneurial agriculture, as well as liberal, Marxist and post-structuralist development. I show how all these discourses contribute to a process of (re)peasantisation to varying degrees. I then argue, (re)peasantisatoin challenges development in a number of ways, most radically with pride in being a small-scale farmer meaning otherness is articulated as a basis for alternative ways of knowing and doing. (Less)
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author
Tamlit, Alistair LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20141
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
agroecology, post-development, discourse, territories, (re)peasantisation, multiple crises, Cape Town
language
English
id
4446583
date added to LUP
2014-09-09 10:24:39
date last changed
2014-09-09 10:24:39
@misc{4446583,
  abstract     = {{Development, with its links to capitalism and Western conceptions of progress, is both impossible to achieve and restricts possibilities of other socially and ecologically just worlds. Neoliberal development has long been promoted in agriculture, leading to corporate concentration and is perpetuated under food security discourses. In South Africa, this maintains apartheid racial inequalities. Alternative discourses and practices have emerged in the form of agroecology and food sovereignty, which have been adopted by actors both internationally and in South Africa. Discourse is one form of power in society, which has material implications. The concept of territories, as socially constructed spaces mediated by power relations, is therefore one way to conceptualise the impact of discourses. In this study, therefore, I explore how agroecological territories can challenge development within Cape Town. I find that there are competing discourses relating to both agroecology and entrepreneurial agriculture, as well as liberal, Marxist and post-structuralist development. I show how all these discourses contribute to a process of (re)peasantisation to varying degrees. I then argue, (re)peasantisatoin challenges development in a number of ways, most radically with pride in being a small-scale farmer meaning otherness is articulated as a basis for alternative ways of knowing and doing.}},
  author       = {{Tamlit, Alistair}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Territories of Resistance: Agroecology as Alternative(s) to Development. A Case Study of (Re)peasantisation in the City of Cape Town, South Africa}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}