RCSD invites all to attend a book talk on Thursday, 9 April from 1-3 pm
at the Subaltern Room, RCSD, Faculty of Social Science, Chiang Mai University.

In “Socializing Land: Plantations, Dispossession, and Resistance in Laos,” author Miles Kenney-Lazar provides a sophisticated ethnographic critique of the global land rush, focusing on the proliferation of Chinese and Vietnamese pulpwood and rubber plantations in southern Laos. Moving beyond a view of land as a mere commodity or “thing,” Kenney-Lazar argues that land is fundamentally a set of social relationships. By examining the experiences of the ethnic minority Brou people in Savannakhet, the book reveals how the coercive expropriation of territory by state-investor partnerships is met with persistent friction and contestation.

The author highlights the contradictory role of the Lao state, which simultaneously pursues investment-driven growth while pledging to protect limited peasant land rights. Crucially, the research demonstrates that despite the disastrous effects of dispossession, these struggles can ironically strengthen peasant social ties to the land through organized resistance, perhaps ultimately limiting attempts at alienation.

This upcoming talk offers a deeper look and chance to engage with the author on the political relationships between government officials, plantation managers, and village authorities that shape the contemporary agrarian landscape in Southeast Asia. All interested students, faculty, and members of the public are welcome to attend.