Land Tenure Center Newsletter
Number 82, Fall 2001, p. 2
It is now more than two months since the attacks of September 11th, and no matter how much the phrase is repeated, it does feel as though the world has changed in fundamental ways. For LTC, these changes are both small and large. In the days after the attacks, we worried about the safety of staff around the globe, especially those in central Asia. Thankfully, all our staff have remained safe and secure in their travels and work.
More fundamentally, the recent events raised questions about the security of LTC’s work itself. As the Bush Administration seeks funds to conduct the war in Afghanistan, some of this money might come from portions of the budget of the US Agency for International Development, LTC’s major funder through the decades. At the same time, however, the need for development and, most importantly, development with equity seems to be present again in US foreign policy discussions in a way it hasn’t been for some time.
As people across the political spectrum pondered the motivations that triggered the attacks on the United States, it became apparent to most that the ever-widening gap between rich and poor nations, and between the rich and poor within developing nations, are obvious sources of anger and frustration among people in the developing world. Potentially, this renewed focus on issues of poverty, social and political marginalization, and economic and social development could result in an increase of support for development work.
To the extent this renewed belief in the need for development is long-lasting and serious, LTC’s work linking land to fundamental processes of political and economic change is even more important and likely to become ever more prominent. This would be appropriate recognition of LTC’s many decades of work. In May 2002, LTC will celebrate its 40th birthday. Many events are being planned, initiated by the spring seminar series in which we will examine our history in order to find lessons for the future. Stay tuned for further information on how we plan to celebrate a remarkable and proud history.
Copyright © 2001 by Land Tenure Center and Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin. All rights reserved.
Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for noncommercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies.
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