GLOCON: Global Change - Local Conflicts? Conflicts over land in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa in times of global transformation

The junior research group examines the connection between global change and local conflicts over land. Current processes of change such as climate change and the crisis of food prices are leading to changes in the use of land worldwide. As a result of this, conflicts over land take place in some localities, but not everywhere. The research interest focuses therefore on the forms of the social and political mediation of global change, examining social structures, state policies and institutions. A conceptual framework for the analysis of global-local interaction is being developed. Starting from this, four case studies of conflicts over land will be conducted in two African and two Latin American countries: Colombia, Brazil, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. Based on the case study results, theory will be further developed and the chances for, and limits to, the political shaping of global processes of change in relation to conflicts over land will be explored.