“Land Grabbing” Concept: Global and National Aspects

Abstract

The correct understanding of the current world political agenda associated with changes in the global agrifood system is accompanied by the development of new analytical models. The present work is also devoted to the study of the “Land Grabbing” concept as one of innovative tools of the theoretical apparatus of political science. Using the method of historical and logical unity, the author evaluates the role of the “Land Grabbing” strategy, in comparison with “Double Movement” theory and the typology of international food regimes. In particular, the article is devoted to the study of the stages of emergence and evolution of this concept, unfamiliar to the Russian academic community. Based on a comparative analysis, all theories used to describe the expropriation of ecosystem resources are compared. As a result of the procedure, the compilation feature of all related concepts is diagnosed, and the hidden discursive disagreement is eliminated. Using the method of critical analysis, the author develops a “Two-phase model of the occupation of control”, which emphasizes the dominant position of the Conflict paradigm – the semantic module of the idea of “Land Grabbing”. In the experimental part of the article, the effectiveness of the “Land Grabbing” concept is verified on a specific example – the agricultural sector of the Russian Federation. Via the method of statistical observation, the author analyzes the dynamics of property rights and systematizes the register of commercial contracts concluded with agricultural land in the period from 2000 to 2023. It is proved that foreign corporations are the ultimate beneficiaries in more than 90% of cases of all land transactions. Relying on the method of secondary data analysis, the author identifies the largest commercial owners of agricultural land and the leading countries in offshore exploitation of the general domestic ecosystem resource. By the visualization method, a “Tree-factor model of Land Grabbing” is constructed, the indicators of which are the processes of Corporatization, Foreignization and Catastrophization. In the final part of the work, the author simulates a predictive scenario for the transformation of the global food system based on a retrospective analysis of international food regimes. At the same time, a legal examination of the strategy for national security of the Russian Federation is conducted. Drawing on the analysis performed, the author formulates recommendations relevant to the current geopolitical situation.