Land Conflict In Swaziland

In an era of globalisation, culture and tradition are becoming more isolated and homogenized. The process of globalisation is often seen as industrialisation or Westernisation of inferior countries. When globalisation occurs in developing countries such as Swaziland, it is often seen as a loss of culture and tradition. The accepting of Western cultures and adapting to western ideals and ideologies is problematic for traditional states such as Swaziland. This essay aims to identify the ways which the Swazi king maintains power using tradition as well as examine the ways globalisation has had an impact on culture in Swaziland and how the country has kept these major factors, which shape society at large, co-operating. Finally this essay aims

A king therefore has legitimacy over the land he has inherited. Large parts of Swaziland’s land are divided mainly between two regional chiefs, kaMkhweli and Macetjeni. These chiefdoms are located in central eastern part of the country. The monarchy uses his control over these land spaces as means to maintain power through these chiefdoms. Conflict in Swaziland is a result of land disputes as the land acts as a resource for crops, homesteads and private growth, thus the land is a space of control and the owner of the land is the individual who has control, i.e. the Swazi monarchy (Sinelane, 2012: 235). Sinelane (2012: 233) argues the conflict in Swaziland is not a result of modernity against tradition but rather the conflict “was about control and power of land as a means of

British and Boer settlers controlled most of the land in the country while a small portion of the Swazi people’s homeland was left to them. There was a limit to movement through the country and although there were protests against the partitioning of land, the Swazi people were still “inherited” the worst and smallest parts of the country. The departure of the British and Boer saw the king of the time rule over the land and the power to distribute this land is still solely his, thus the king uses this as a means to hold onto his power and exercise control over these land spaces (Sinelane, 2012: 235-236). Claims from the king on his monopoly of land are based on patriotism. He argues land distributions are limited as he is protection the Swazi people from Western influences penetrating the country and using the land as a space where they can draw people to western ideals and reduce the strong tradition of the Swazi people (Sinelane, 2012: