The political economy of the land-livelihoods nexus in an era of ecological change and the global land rush : access to land, land conflict and large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia

As a whole, the thesis shows the evolving complexity and dynamics of land-livelihoods nexus in the face of ongoing ecological change and global land rush, a situation where the already difficult issues of politically contested land control and land access by the rural poor have become greater challenges. In so doing, the thesis attempts to improve our understanding of how the political challenges of effecting democratic land access in this changed context – especially for the younger generation – and protecting the territorial rights of ethnic minorities prove to be central.