Ricardo Paris, student of the PhD Programme in International Development Studies (PhD IDS), authored a new open access journal article which was recently published in the Journal Territory, Politcs, Governance.

In the study, Ricardo Paris analyses how the emergence of middle-scale farms along Mozambique’s Nacala Corridor is reshaping socio-spatial dynamics which signals the decline in large-scale investments and shifts in development models. Despite their growing influence in the African context, middle-scale farms remain underexplored in conflict studies. Using Negri’s concept of Empire, Ricardo conceptualises these companies as producers of hybrid and expansive territorialities that reorder governance and socio-economic relations. Employing a mixed-methods approach, combining ethnographic fieldwork and remote sensing, Ricardo's research examines two cases exploring how technology, external mediation and labour dynamics shape territorial production. His findings reveal territories marked by contradictions and interdependencies, advancing understanding of local-global socio-spatial transformations. By adopting a transdisciplinary framework, his research provides insights into the interplay of local development and global capital flows.

Gellert Paris, R. (2025): Imperial forms of territorialisation and the emergence of middle-scale farms in the Nacala Development Corridor in Mozambique. Territory, Politics, Governance: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21622671.2025.2517745#abstract