Section Plenary: The Return of Land Politics: New Imaginaries, Debates and Challenges

Abstract

This plenary session brings together chairs from all eight panels within the Return of Land Politics section to explore the resurgence of land as a foundational issue in contemporary politics. Drawing on diverse perspectives from the section's panels—spanning housing, environmental governance, territorial sovereignty, agrarian struggles, politics of property and land policy - the session will examine the nature, and implications, of land's return to political prominence. The session aims to identify cross-cutting themes, reveal productive tensions between different approaches, and chart future research agendas. In doing so, we hope to synthesise key insights from across the section panels about how land shapes and is shaped by contemporary political economies. This plenary offers a great opportunity for scholars approaching land politics from different disciplinary perspectives to engage in critical dialogue about land's role in both exacerbating and potentially addressing our most pressing global challenges. By bringing together varied perspectives and geographical contexts, the session will explore both the complexity of contemporary land politics and the possibilities for transformative change.