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Governments have conferred ownership titles to many citizens throughout the world in an effort to turn things into property. Almost all elements of nature have become the target of property laws, from the classic preoccupation with land to more ephemeral material, such as air and genetic resources. When Things Become Property interrogates the mixed outcomes of conferring ownership by examining postsocialist land and forest reforms in Albania, Romania and Vietnam, and finds that property reforms are no longer, if they ever were, miracle tools available to governments for refashioning economies, politics or environments.
“Despite the seemingly exotic selection of countries, the authors make a significant contribution to the assessment of privatization policy… The volume allows a better understanding of the overall problem and the causes of the failure and can therefore be considered as a valuable contribution to the forthcoming discussion… it is strongly recommended to be read by anyone interested in evaluating privatization policy.” • Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas
“I think this is an excellent book. The command of the empirical material allows the authors to drive home a series of points that have theoretical purchase far beyond the analyzed contexts. This is an exciting contribution to the understanding of major social transformations.” • Christian Lund, University or Copenhagen
Thomas Sikor was Professor of Environment and Development at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.
Preface
List of Acronyms
Introduction: Turning things into property
PART I: AGRICULTURE: NEGOTIATING PROPERTY AND VALUE
Introduction
Chapter 1. Transnational migration, ethnicity, and property in Albania
Chapter 2. Livelihood traditions, worker-peasants, and peasant entrepreneurs in Romania
Chapter 3. Modernity, fantasies, and property in Vietnam
PART II: FORESTS: CONTESTING PROPERTY AND AUTHORITY
Introduction
Chapter 4. Forests, state, and custom in Albania
Chapter 5. Property, predators, and patrons in Romania
Chapter 6. Land allocation, loggers, and lawmakers in Vietnam
Conclusion: Postsocialist propertizing and the dynamics of property
Index