The great retreat: pastoralism in the arid tropics

The decline of pastoralism in the arid tropics during the twentieth century, generating livelihood stress and violent conflicts, remains an under-researched subject in economic history. Although political stances were sometimes discriminatory towards pastoralists, the decline was largely the unintended consequence of four factors: colonial legacy, property right, development policy, and technological shifts. The paper discusses these four factors and shows that each one of these drivers represented a response to the challenges of development of the world’s dry tropics.