Smallholder bargaining power in large-scale land deals: a relational perspective

What capacity do smallholders have to influence key decisions in large-scale land deals to their own advantage, in particular in their own localities? Though the cards are stacked against them, micro processes on the ground show great variations. We put the magnifying glass on local power dynamics to explore both opportunities and constraints to the bargaining power of smallholders as they resist land deals or struggle for (better terms of) inclusion. We propose a relational perspective, in the sense that we focus on the social relations through which smallholders may ‘produce’ power, access power resources and profit from leverage vis-à-vis investors – constrained by wider power configurations. Drawing on our research in Indonesia and the Philippines augmented with other case studies on Southeast Asia, we highlight (1) relations of interdependency with investors; (2) ‘horizontal’ relations of shared interests and identity; (3) tactical relations with state officials; (4) relations with specialists in violence; and (5) relations with supra-local civil society groups. Explorative in nature, this contribution suggests an analytical lens to study sources of smallholder bargaining power and vulnerability in large-scale land deals

Smallholder bargaining power in large-scale land deals: a relational perspective

What capacity do smallholders have to influence key decisions in large-scale land deals to their own advantage, in particular in their own localities? Though the cards are stacked against them, micro processes on the ground show great variations. We put the magnifying glass on local power dynamics to explore both opportunities and constraints to the bargaining power of smallholders as they resist land deals or struggle for (better terms of) inclusion. We propose a relational perspective, in the sense that we focus on the social relations through which smallholders may ‘produce’ power, access power resources and profit from leverage vis-à-vis investors – constrained by wider power configurations. Drawing on our research in Indonesia and the Philippines augmented with other case studies on Southeast Asia, we highlight (1) relations of interdependency with investors; (2) ‘horizontal’ relations of shared interests and identity; (3) tactical relations with state officials; (4) relations with specialists in violence; and (5) relations with supra-local civil society groups. Explorative in nature, this contribution suggests an analytical lens to study sources of smallholder bargaining power and vulnerability in large-scale land deals

Landscape of somatic mutations in 560 breast cancer whole-genome sequences

We analysed whole-genome sequences of 560 breast cancers to advance understanding of the driver mutations conferring clonal advantage and the mutational processes generating somatic mutations. We found that 93 protein-coding cancer genes carried probable driver mutations. Some non-coding regions exhibited high mutation frequencies, but most have distinctive structural features probably causing elevated mutation rates and do not contain driver mutations. Mutational signature analysis was extended to genome rearrangements and revealed twelve base substitution and six rearrangement signatures. Three rearrangement signatures, characterized by tandem duplications or deletions, appear associated with defective homologous-recombination-based DNA repair: one with deficient BRCA1 function, another with deficient BRCA1 or BRCA2 function, the cause of the third is unknown. This analysis of all classes of somatic mutation across exons, introns and intergenic regions highlights the repertoire of cancer genes and mutational processes operating, and progresses towards a comprehensive account of the somatic genetic basis of breast cancer