Zimbabwe's Land Problem: The Central Issue

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Periodical article

Title:	Zimbabwe's Land Problem: The Central Issue
Author:	Riddell, Roger C.
Year:	1980
Periodical:	Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
Volume:	18
Issue:	1
Period:	March
Pages:	1-13
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Zimbabwe
Subjects:	land Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Politics and Government
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/14662048008447344
Abstract:	After outlining the importance of land in presentday Rhodesia, and, implicitly, suggesting the need for land redistribution by pointing to the extreme overcrowding and growing landlessness in most African rural areas alongside substantial land underutilisation in the European rural area, the author argues that land is not just one important factor in the Rhodesian conflict but that it is the central issue, for it holds the key to understanding Rhodesia's economic structure and growth strategy. To this end he broadens the discussion from the static analysis of the current land position to a more dynamic examination of why the present rural and urban structures have evolved and how land policies have affected major aspects of economic growth in the modern sectors of the economy. The author concludes by examining some of the implications for land of the independence constitution for Zimbabwe tabled by Britain at the Lancaster House conference and agreed (with conditions) by both the Patriotic Front and the Salisbury administration. Notes.