Premium
The Puzzle of Group Ranch Subdivision in Kenya's Maasailand
Author(s) -
Mwangi Esther
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7660.2007.00438.x
Subject(s) - maasai , subdivision , status quo , property rights , property (philosophy) , pastoralism , negotiation , group (periodic table) , geography , outcome (game theory) , political science , economics , environmental planning , law , microeconomics , epistemology , livestock , philosophy , archaeology , chemistry , organic chemistry , forestry , tanzania
This article explores the motivations underlying Maasai pastoralists' support for the subdivision and parcellization of their collectively held group ranches, an outcome that is inconsistent with theoretical expectation. Examining four group ranches that formed part of the wave of subdivisions that occurred in the 1980s, it finds that Maasai herders were inclined to support subdivision in order to capture gains in a new property assignment or to reduce distributional disadvantages within the status quo. Importantly, however, subdivision also emerged as a critical defensive strategy against internal and external threats to Maasai land claims. Incorporating this defensive strategy (aimed at securing individual claims) within the individual's calculus for seeking exclusive rights provides insights into why a theoretically unexpected property rights transformation took place.