Land Reform Case Study

In the view of this Traditional Authority, the traditional leaders influence considerably the outcome of the land reform. In the following it will be shown firstly, what kind of actions interviewed traditional leaders take to influence the land reform and in a next step it will be discussed if the traditional leaders of my case study have measurable agency to determine the outcome of the reform.
The interviewed traditional leaders take use of their civic rights to influence the land reform. When they are discussing the land law changes, most of them work closely with the government. They address their concerns through the District Commission and in local and national forums held to discuss the land reform. For instance, one Traditional Authority
This strategy is used by two of my respondents. For example, one Traditional Authority said that he welcomes politicians to speak with him about the law since in his view they do not seem to know the advantages of the law.
To address the land reform in the mass media can be seen as another plan of action. Some Traditional Authorities used this strategy as evidence from newspaper articles show. Yet, no one of my respondents mentioned to talk to the media in order to influence public opinion on the law. A possible reason could be that the media plays not an important role in rural areas as newspapers are expensive and electricity to listen to radio or to watch television is not well distributed in rural areas. Yet, three Traditional Authorities mentioned to address the land reform in their community .
To probably strengthen their position, several traditional leaders wanted to intensify dialogue between them and other traditional leaders. One Traditional Authority called specifically for a chief forum to discuss topics of concern. Probably they consult each other in order to develop together a standpoint and thereby strengthen their assertiveness by acting as a group. For example, one Traditional Authority said he does not take actions until he did speak with other traditional leaders on the
His idea was to form a trust for all the customary land in his area to safeguard it for the people. This would probably mean that the transformation from customary land to customary estates would not be possible, yet he disclosed he would only consider it if there is a possibility to do it like this. Additionally, he said it would be very difficult for someone to convince him to allow the registration of a customary estate. Hence, he is hinting to opposing the law as a strategy to influence the implementation of the land reform. The declaration of the Mzimba Heritage Association proves that there are stances in Mzimba, which are considering acting against the developed legislative framework, and are thereby not recognising the Malawian government as their supreme