ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows that anthropologists must translate research findings from their fieldwork into normative policies applies to a domain far broader than resettlement alone. It discusses international law recognizes the right of the state to take over private land for national public needs, but the state also incurs an obligation to recompense the landholder. The book focuses on a changing national political climate introduces a perspective often missing from resettlement case studies. It is concerned with the development and use of policies designed specifically for resettlement. Resettlement policies concerned with providing more than remuneration for lost assets, however, are relatively recent arrivals in national and international law. The book argues that resettlement policies are part and parcel of much broader, evolving concepts about human rights in development.
