Mayke Kaag is senior researcher at the African Studies Centre (ASC) at Leiden University. She is a social anthropologist interested in processes of change and continuity in West and West-Central Africa. She did her PhD on land use and social dynamics in Senegal (2001) and has since conducted research on transnational Islamic NGO’s in Chad (2004) and Senegalese Mouride migrants in Italy (2005-2007).
From 2008-2010, she coordinated the Senegal project of the Islam Research Programme that was initiated by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was executed in collaboration with Dutch embassies in selected countries. Her current research focuses primarily on African transnational relations, including land issues, transnational Islamic charities and engagements with the diaspora.
The idea that there is a “land grab” taking place in developing nations began with the publication of a report,Seized!, by the NGO Grain. This rang an alarm bell about large-scale land acquisitions – particularly by a number of Asian countries and…
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