Corridors of Connectivity and the Infrastructural Land Rush in Laos

In this chapter, we argue that megaprojects are a critical feature and technology of the global land rush within the current infrastructure boom. We contribute a land-oriented perspective to the turn towards infrastructure within the social sciences by studying the role of large infrastructure and special economic zones in land grabbing. We suggest that the extant land grab literature can benefit from theoretical, methodological, and empirical attention to the effects of infrastructure on land, land governance, and dispossession. The chapter looks to the Laos-China Economic Corridor (LCEC) as a case to consider how the corridor model and related megaprojects of capital accumulation are designed to territorialize. By examining specific cases within the LCEC, we discuss and illustrate how megaprojects contribute to land grabbing and to what effect. We conclude with suggestions on how to expand this research agenda.

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