Divergent repertoire of peasants – land acquisitions in Silk village

This study explores rural politics in the context of the State implementing land accumulation and a series of large- and small-scale land grabs in favor of industry and urbanization in Vietnam. By investigating various political reactions towards land expropriations in a village in the fringe area of the capital, this study challenges the idea that people everywhere make a stand against the insertion of expulsion to protect their land. Combining political economy, agrarian studies and rich data from the field, I attempt to discover both internal and external factors that are correlated with how people react and forms of resistance take place in the grab-site, revealing the political stance chosen by affected villagers. The shift of political stances and strategies reflects the strong influence of extra-economic coercion in analyses of land relations embedded in a society. This paper demonstrates that the impact of land loss is not similar among individuals, among communities, with the emphasis on the existing social differentiation and power configuration.