ABSTRACT
Agrarian and land reforms across the world have differed widely both in intention and implementation. Agrarian reforms have often been associated with social and political revolution, but sometimes programmes have sought amelioration of an existing socio-economic order. In recent years, the term ‘reform’ has also been applied to market-led economic restructuring, including of land tenure. While greater equity in landholdings is a common objective, even this is debatable. This chapter asks what agrarian reform is. What are the purposes of agrarian and land reforms, and what circumstances provoke or enable them? How do agrarian reforms differ from one another?
