ABSTRACT

During a civil war and its aftermath, rival powerholders frequently engage in decision-making over land use, for example, via land acquisitions or legal reforms. This paper explores how powerholders influence land use decision-making and what their engagement implies for territorial control. We analyse three cases of land use changes in Myanmar’s south between 1990 and 2015, where the Myanmar state and an ethnic minority organization fought over territorial control. We gathered qualitative data with a mix of methods and visualised actor networks and institutions. Our analysis reveals that the state managed to increasingly control decision-making over local land use from a distance by employing actor alliances and institutions such as laws and incentives, whereas the ethnic organization lost influence. We conclude that engaging in land use decision-making plays a crucial role in influencing the outcomes of a civil war and that it represents a form of war- and state-making.

摘要

在内战及其后果期间，敌对的当权者经常参与土地使用决策，例如通过土地收购或法律改革。本文探讨了当权者如何影响土地使用决策以及他们的参与对领土控制意味着什么。我们分析了 1990 年至 2015 年间缅甸南部土地利用变化的三个案例，缅甸政府和少数民族组织在那里为领土控制权而战。我们使用多种方法和可视化的参与者网络和机构来收集定性数据。我们的分析表明，国家通过运用行动者联盟和法律和激励措施等机构，设法从远处越来越多地控制对当地土地使用的决策，而民族组织则失去了影响力。