Occasional Paper

The Tragic African Commons: A Century of Expropriation, Suppresion and Subversion

“This paper examines the nature of the African commons as a property system; analyses the extent of damage which was
inflicted upon it during one hundred years of exploitation, suppression and subversion; explains why, in spite of that damage, the commons have survived; and confronts the issue of what it will take to restore their legitimacy within, and guarantee their status in, positive law alongside other property systems.”