ANC land reform started on a good footing with the RDP, but has since moved to a policy of supporting entrepreneurial emerging middle-class black farmers rather than the immiserated rural subsistence farmers. This has shifted government funding and support towards the urban areas leaving rural areas destitute.

In State Power in Land Reform, the author relies on a robust theoretical frame, extensive policy analysis and empirical data to advocate for a new engagement with local communities through rejuvenated municipalities, that is, through strong local institutions.

State Power in Land Reform provides a valuable analytical account for both the historian and the archive.