Multiple Trajectories of the EEC Backyard Development: Local Power Restructuring and Agricultural Society Uncertainty

Abstract

This research article examines the local economic-political conditions that have caused uncertainty of farmers in the EEC backyard over the past three decades. The focus of this study is to consider the restructuring of local power in the development context, especially the changing relationship between authority networks and local land resources management under industrial development projects and the land capitalization process. This article uses a qualitative research approach in a political economy framework to examine the causes and consequences of local power restructuring linked to land resource management. This research reflects that the restructuring of local power is related to changes in land management practices after the Eastern Industrial Zone Development Project. On the one hand, a local elite network offers a monoculture land development path tied to the development of industrial zones, and becomes part of the conditions of uncertainty for farmers. On the other hand, another elite network, led by farmers and entrepreneurs, aims to present a land development method aligned with the livelihoods of local farmers and small entrepreneurs.