Commodity & land rushes and regimes
Reshaping the politics of food, climate, labour and citizenship
- How do contemporary global commodity rushes (‘land grabs’) reshape the politics of food, climate, labour, citizenship and geopolitics in different contexts?
- What are the implications of such new regimes, in terms of structural, institutional and political shifts?
‘Commodity & land rushes and regimes: Reshaping five spheres of global social life’ (RRUSHES-5) sets out to answer these questions. It focuses on three countries which have been global hotspots of commodity and land rushes: Ethiopia, Myanmar and Colombia.
Guided by a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework and grounded in empirical work, the project will engage in practical policy questions aimed at probing the potential for socially just and ecologically sustainable reforms.
This €2.5 million project – funded through the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant – is led by Professor Jun Borras. The team furthermore comprises Dr Tsegaye Moreda as well as 5 PhD candidates and a postdoctoral researcher.
Why is this research relevant?
Recent global commodity rushes have profoundly influenced societies across the globe. At least a quarter of a billion hectares of land have been affected, reshaping livelihoods and social and political relations. Contemporary commodity rushes are more complex and far-reaching than those we have seen before, requiring new thinking and practice in order to respond to such unprecedented challenges.
This project will change the way we study the recent commodity and land rushes, demonstrating why and how they concern not only the 3.5 billion people who live in rural areas, but the entire world population.
Outputs
Reports
Myanmar’s cross-border migrant workers and the Covid-19 pandemic: Their life stories and the social structures shaping them - Report
Toward a just transition to a democratic new normal in Myanmar: Cross-border migrant workers and the Covid-19 pandemic (English)- Report
Toward a just transition to a democratic new normal in Myanmar: Cross-border migrant workers and the Covid-19 pandemic (Burmese) - Report
Journal articles
Borras, S.M., J.C. Franco, Z. Nam (2020) 'Climate change and land: Insights from Myanmar' in World Development, Vol. 129 May 2020
Research team and collaborations
The project collaborates with academic institutions and civil society.
Jun Borras, Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator
Tsegaye Moreda, researcher and Project Deputy Coordinator
Yunan Xu, researcherMoges Bantie (Ethiopia)
Sai Sam Kham (Myanmar)
Doi Ra (Myanmar)
Itayosara Rojas Herrera (Colombia)
Lorenza Arango (Colombia)Dessalegn Rahmato (Ethiopia)
Myint Zaw (Myanmar)
Dario Fajardo (Colombia)
Chunyu Wang (China)
Danilo Carranza (Philippines)
Jennifer C. Franco (Global)Getnet Alemu (Ethiopia)
Tom Kramer, Kyaw Thu, Chayan Vaddhanaphuti (Myanmar)
Diana Ojeda, Hector Santaella (Colombia)Shapan Adnan (Myanmar/Rohingya)
Sergio Coronado (Colombia)Eva Broer (RRUSHES-5 Research Project Manager)
Jo Baskott
Adinda Ceelen (Knowledge Broker & Research Communication)
Chaya Raghoenath (RRUSHES-5 Finance Manager)
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 834006).
Contact the research team
- Email address
If you would like more information about this research project, please contact Professor Jun Borras
