Abstract

Michael Watts is a leading human geographer, internationally renowned for his important work on Third World political economy and political ecol-ogy. Focusing on peasant societies and agrarian change, his research and fieldwork has centred on Africa and southern India and has been marked by a profound awareness of global processes and debates in social and cultural theory. In the first of the 1999 Hettner Lectures, Michael Watts explores how strug-gles over geography, misuse of political power, redistribution of eco-nomic resources and state violence against minorities are intertwined. He refers to case studies in Nigeria to show how local religious and ethnic movements challenged the character of Nigeria as a nation. In his sec-ond lecture he discusses different concepts of development, critically reflecting upon various theoretical debates in the 19th and 20th centuries.