Ultra-thin spaces: acqua, agricoltura e investimenti stranieri in Sudan

Land grabbing represents a basic characteristic of the current economic globalization. In the River Nile State, the "disassembling" (Sassen 2006, 2013) of the Sudanese national territory is occurring. The state open its space to foreign economic actors. Agricultural "ultra-thin" schemes are an alternative territorial expression in relation to that of the "thin spaces" (Scott, 1998). If these latter had the historical role of strengthening the control of the state over the national territory (just think about the Gezira), on the contrary, the “ultra-thin spaces” make the local dimension available to the dynamics of the global economy. The Sudanese state operates as a broker to acquire new legitimacy in the global market. The state partially sacrifices its sovereignty by allowing foreign actors to acquire land in which exceptional conditions are in place, but, at the same moment, it claims its role of intermediary between the global capital and the territory. The latter, however, is well “alive” and not only “made of resources”: in this way, it impedes the realization of the investments and it undermines the validity of the “territorial offer” presented by the state on the global market.