PhD Defence Abstract – Muhangi Herbert

This study empirically investigates the relationship between land conflicts and the socioeconomic livelihoods of refugees and host communities in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Southwestern Uganda. Guided by the theoretical lenses of Conflict Theory and the Sustainable Livelihood Approach, the research employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. A cross-sectional survey of 384 refugees and host community members provided quantitative data. This was supplemented by 15 in-depth key informant interviews, which captured the nuanced lived experiences underlying the statistical patterns.

The findings reveal that land conflicts in Nakivale are not merely episodic disputes but are systemic in character, driven by a confluence of structural and institutional failures. Quantitatively, the primary drivers were identified as ambiguous land ownership policies (90.6%), cultural differences in land use (79.2%), and intense competition over scarce agricultural land (94.8%). Qualitative narratives exposed the mechanisms behind these numbers, detailing how institutional corruption, illegal land transactions orchestrated by officials, and intra-refugee ethnic tensions exacerbate these conflicts. The socioeconomic effects are profound and multifaceted; land conflicts significantly reduce agricultural productivity, increase food insecurity (58.3%), destabilize household incomes (57%), and erode the social capital and trust necessary for long-term coexistence. The study further shows that the relational dynamics of communities, particularly levels of trust, cooperation, and joint participation play an important role in shaping the extent to which these conflicts translate into livelihood losses. Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed a statistically significant negative relationship between land conflicts and socioeconomic wellbeing (Adjusted R² = 0.27, p < 0.001), while also demonstrating that stronger social cohesion improves livelihood outcomes and weakens the magnitude of this negative relationship. The inclusion of social cohesion in the model increased explanatory power to 33%, indicating that cohesive communities are more resilient to the economic and social shocks generated by land disputes. Land ownership additionally emerged as a key positive contributor, although its protective effect is constrained in high-conflict environments.