Young Perspectives on Pastoral Rangeland Privatization: Intimate Exclusions at the Intersection of Youth Identities

The recent privatization of Maasai rangelands in Southern Kenya has not only facilitated land grabbing by outsiders, but, more pervasively, has given rise to intimate exclusions, whereby the young generation's access to land and land-based resources has changed dramatically. Yet, young people's views and experiences are neglected in local, academic and policy debates on land tenure reform. On the basis of long-term fieldwork and mixed methods approaches in a community that has recently undergone privatization, this article explores young perspectives on this process, demonstrating the unique positions of youth as compared with adults and the divergent views of youth shaped by other intersecting social dimensions of difference, such as class, gender and ethnicity. Bringing in young perspectives deepens our understanding of the role of tenure change in development and social transformation, providing critical insights.