A political ecology approach to extra-legal rural livelihoods : a Lesotho-based case study of cultivation of and trade in cannabis

Abstract

Rural livelihood strategies that in part comprise criminalised activities and hidden economies are an important, yet understudied, aspect of achieving economic diversification in many less developed regions. Drawing on frameworks developed in the fields of political ecology, marginalisation and vulnerability studies, as well as rural livelihoods and agrarian studies, this thesis examines cannabis cultivation and trade in Lesotho, as an extra-legal rural livelihood strategy. The findings are situated in the context of the severe socioeconomic, political and environmental challenges facing rural communities in Lesotho. The term extra-legal is adopted in order to both highlight the active involvement of official authorities in the trade and the importance of recognising a criminalised network that stretches between formal and informal political and economic structures.