ABSTRACT
This chapter undertakes a critical review of the progress that Malawi has made in addressing the land question since the transition to democracy in May 1994. It discusses the advent of democratization pushed the land question onto the agenda, and advocates for political liberalization touted it as one of the priority policy issues, vested and deeply entrenched interests have successfully obstructed swift progress. The land reform agenda has further been compromised by external actors who have been providing technical assistance to the government in its attempt to address the land question. The chapter examines two initiatives that have been implemented in the context of the apparent stagnation of the land reform efforts since May 1994. These initiatives are the Community-Based Rural Land Development Programme (CBRLDP) and the Green Belt Initiative (GBI). The main purpose is to examine the extent to which these initiatives have enabled or constrained progress in the country's land reform efforts.
