This study compares how land disputes hampered conflict resolution and limited democratic citizenship in post-bellum Guatemala and post-apartheid South Africa. The research agenda is grounded historically in the legacies of colonial domination and racial dictatorship. The convergence of authoritarian rule and ethnic discrimination resulted in deliberate acts of dispossession of communal lands and forced removals and dislocation of indigenous communities. The uprooting of entire villages, and the migration of refugees, and the plight of transient populations entailed egregious state abuse and elite self-enrichment. Yet, the international community's support for conflict resolution and reconciliation neglected the significance of land for democratic stability and social peace.
Property Rights; Conflict Resolution; Citizenship; Democracy