معرفی
Ruth Hall is Professor and Director of the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape, serving from 2025-2030. She previously held the South African Research Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (2020-2024) and has been Acting Director of PLAAS since May 2024. Her academic credentials include a DPhil in Politics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, an MPhil in Development Studies from Oxford, and undergraduate degrees from the University of Cape Town.
Her research examines the political economy of land governance, redistributive reforms, customary tenure systems, and transnational land investments in Africa. She convenes a continental short course on Political Economy of Land Governance and has co-founded major research networks including the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI), BRICS Initiative in Critical Agrarian Studies (BICAS), Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI), and Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA).
Professor Hall serves on the African Union's Scientific Committee for Land Policy and President Cyril Ramaphosa's Advisory Panel on Land Reform. As editor of the Journal of Peasant Studies, she oversees critical scholarship on agrarian transformations. Her publications consistently address land governance conflicts, agricultural commercialization patterns, and power dynamics in resource allocation across the Global South.
Scientific Awards & Honors:
- Rhodes Scholarship for postgraduate studies at Oxford University
- South African Research Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (2020-2024)
Key Institutional Roles:
- Editor, Journal of Peasant Studies
- Member, AU Land Policy Scientific Committee
- Advisor to South African Presidency on Land Reform
- Founding convener of four international research networks
