Author: Mayke Kaag, A. Zoomers.

The last two years have seen a huge amount of academic, policy-making and media interest in the increasingly contentious issue of 'land grabbing' - the large-scale acquisition of land in the global South. It is a phenomenon against which locals seem defenseless, and one about which multilateral organizations such as the World Bank as well as civil-society organizations and action NGOs have become increasingly vocal.This in-depth and empirically diverse volume - taking in case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America - takes a step back from the hype to explore a number of key question: Does the 'Global Land Grab' actually exist? If so, what is new about it? And what, beyond the immediately visible dynamics and practices, are the real problems?A comprehensive and much-needed intervention on one of the most hotly contested but little-understood issues facing Global South countries today.