The Nature of Politics: State Building and the Conservation Estate in Postcolonial Botswana

Botswana's state-building qualities of biodiversity conservation are explored in this case study, which argues that discourses and practices related to conservation are essential to state building in the postcolonial era. The book proposes a novel and much-needed alternative definition of the "conservation estate" that is tied to its political elements, rendering conservation a political phenomenon that can be analyzed separately from considerations of "nature" or "wildlife." Botswana is an ideal empirical case study, with 39 percent of its land set aside for conservation and large populations of wildlife. The book examines a series of conservation policies and their reception by people living on the conservation estate, including securitized antipoaching enforcement, a national hunting ban, restrictions on using wildlife products, forced evictions from conservation areas, limitations on mobility and freedom of movement, the political economy of Botswanas wildlife tourism industry, and the conservation of globally important charismatic megafauna species.

Format: Hardback
Length: 408 pages
Publication date: 16 April 2024
Publisher: Ohio University Press

Botswana's state-building qualities of biodiversity conservation in southern Africa are explored in this case study. Annette A. LaRocco contends that biodiversity conservation discourses and practices are crucial to state building in the postcolonial era. These discourses and practices involve the state's authority over people, places, and resources, territorial control, ideal citizenship and identity, and economic relationships. The book's key innovation is its conceptualization of the "conservation estate," which is often used as an apolitical descriptor for land set aside for conservation. LaRocco proposes a novel and much-needed alternative definition that is tied to its political elements. The components of conservation-control over land, policing of human behavior, and structuring of the authority that allows or disallows certain subjectivities-render conservation a political phenomenon that can be analyzed separately from considerations of "nature" or "wildlife." Botswana is an ideal empirical case study upon which to base these theoretical claims. With 39 percent of its land set aside for conservation, Botswana is home to large populations of wildlife, particularly charismatic megafauna, such as the largest herd of elephants on the continent. Utilizing more than two hundred interviews, participant observation, and archival research, LaRocco examines the ways in which conservation discourses and practices shape state-building processes in Botswana. She argues that conservation discourses and practices are not neutral but are deeply embedded in the political and economic structures of society. She also argues that conservation discourses and practices can be used to promote social justice and environmental sustainability. The book concludes by suggesting that conservation discourses and practices should be integrated into state-building processes in order to achieve sustainable development.

Dimension: 216 x 140 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780896803336