Large-scale land acquisitions, or 'land grabbing', has become a key research topic among scholars interested in agrarian change, development, and the environment. The term 'land acquisitions' refers to a highly contested process in terms of governance and impacts on livelihoods and human rights. This book focuses on South-East Asia. A series of thematic and in-depth case studies put 'land grabbing' into specific historical and institutional contexts. The volume also offers a human rights analysis of the phenomenon, examining the potential and limits of human rights mechanisms aimed at...

Education: Fundamental human right or strategic tool in support of economic growth? How does commodity-dependence influence education policy and practice? What is the role of vocational training vis-a-vis university education in developing countries? Are MOOCs and Chinese cooperation a game changer for higher education in Africa? And how does student migration sit vis-a-vis the globalisation of knowledge? These and other questions lie at the heart of Education, Learning, Training: Critical Issues for Development, a collection of essays edited by Gilles Carbonnier, Michel Carton and...

Since 2011, democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa have mostly failed to consolidate and have been hindered by the difficult economic heritage of previous authoritarian governments. Yet newly established democratic governments must deliver on the expectations of their people, especially the poorer strata, otherwise disillusionment may open the door to restoration of authoritarian rule. Can democracy succeed? Various ideas for economic policies that may help consolidate the early democratisation process are proposed in this volume, while major obstacles on the way to...