Ruling Nature, Controlling People

Recent nature conservation initiatives in Southern Africa such as
communal conservancies and peace parks are often embedded in narratives
of economic development and ecological research. They are also
increasingly marked by militarisation and violence. In Ruling Nature, Controlling People,
Luregn Lenggenhager shows that these features were also characteristic
of South African rule over the Caprivi Strip region in North-Eastern
Namibia, especially in the fields of forestry, fisheries and,
ultimately, wildlife conservation. In the process, the increasingly
internationalised war in the region from the late 1960s until Namibia’s
independence in 1990 became intricately interlinked with contemporary
nature conservation, ecology and economic development projects. By
retracing such interdependencies, Lenggenhager provides a novel
perspective from which to examine the history of a region which has
until now barely entered the focus of historical research. He thereby
highlights the enduring relevance of the supposedly peripheral Caprivi
and its military, scientific and environmental histories for efforts to
develop a deeper understanding of the ways in which apartheid South
Africa exerted state power.