Sarah Ruth Sippel
Sarah Ruth Sippel is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Area Studies at the University of Leipzig in Germany and currently working as a visiting researcher at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. She studied Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy in Leipzig and Aix-en-Provence. In her PhD on the Moroccan export production of fresh fruits and vegetables she combined a global agri-food systems perspective with approaches on human security in order to investigate processes of social differentiation within the context of intensive agricultural production. Email: sippel@uni-leipzig.de |
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Research on Land-grabbing:
Arab-Australian Land Deals: A Challenge for Democracy?
Investments in global agricultural land properties have recently gained much attention. While the focus is often on “North-South” dimensions questioning its impact on developing countries, my research explores investments from the Arab Gulf targeting agricultural properties in Australia. For the Arab Gulf States who highly depend on external food supplies investment abroad is one strategy to guarantee future food security. Australia offers several advantages differentiating it from other targeted regions. At the same time, leading Australian political and economic representatives have been eager to attract investments from the Gulf. Increasing media reporting has however also raised critical voices and provoked a vivid public debate on the selling off of Australian land properties. Arab investments in Australian land properties therefore raise several highly relevant questions related to “land grabbing” taking place in a developed context, the concept and nature of foreign investments as well as democratic citizenship and forms of resistance.
