Angela Kronenburg García, Land struggles, the Naimina Enkiyio forest conflicts and leadership among the Loita Maasai of Kenya

This research seeks to understand land struggles and forest conflicts in Loita. It examines changing patterns of land access (including land use and land tenure) and land dispute meetings in the context of increasing intervention by outside actors (such as the state and international environmental organizations) on forest and land. The study investigates how these land and forest dynamics are linked to leadership practices in Loita and complex political struggles that go beyond the local level. The analytical approach combines insights from political ecology, legal anthropology, and access & property studies to explore how governmentality, authority and territoriality intersect. The research is funded by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (MaGW/NWO).

Angela Kronenburg García defended her dissertation at Wageningen University on 13 April 2015.