Development as (In)Justice: The Case of Namibia

Henning Melber, Laura Camfield and Uma Kothari
Additional contact information
Henning Melber: Henning Melber is affiliated with Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala, Uppsala County, Sweden; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Laura Camfield: Laura Camfield is the corresponding author (laura.camfield@kcl.ac.uk) and is affiliated with the Department of International Development, School of Global Affairs, King’s College London, UK.
Uma Kothari: Uma Kothari is affiliated with University of Manchester, Manchester, England, UK.

Progress in Development Studies, 2025, vol. 25, issue 3-4, 211-230

Abstract: This article critically examines the ongoing legacy of colonial land dispossession and its impacts on marginalized communities to reveal the limitations to achieving restorative justice. We focus on the unequal (re)distribution of land, the German Namibian reconciliation agreement and the threats posed by a planned German Namibian mega-project to produce green hydrogen, to advocate for development that delivers material benefits to marginalized groups and ensures intra- and inter-generational justice. Using the lenses of decoloniality and restorative justice, we argue that true decolonization requires commitment to substantive change through addressing the social structures that perpetuate material inequalities. We argue for a more pluralist, decolonial vision of justice to inform debates on restorative justice and to address these material inequalities.

Keywords: Decoloniality; environmental degradation sustainable development; green land grab; inequalities; Namibia; globalization; restorative justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14649934251388766 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:prodev:v:25:y:2025:i:3-4:p:211-230

DOI: 10.1177/14649934251388766

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Progress in Development Studies
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().