"My land is my domain!" A legal geographical inquiry into the the development of property rights in Estonia

Time period:

1 January 2009 – 31 December 2011

Project leader:

Göran Hoppe

Project member:

Peeter Maandi

Funder:

Swedish Research Council

Type of award:

Project grant

Total funding:

1,680,000 SEK

Private property rights are the norm in Eastern Europe after the demise of the communist regimes. However, property rights are more loosely grounded here than in West Europe, partly because of recurrent and often ideological, changes in the nature of property rights in the past. A problem facing physical planners and the sustainable management of natural resources and the cultural landscape is the lack of a clear consensus at the local level, as to the theoretical and practical meaning of property rights. The aim of the project is to strengthen our understanding of how property rights are interpreted and implemented in a society which has seen radical property regime changes, and to find explanations to the variations in interpretation of, and respect for, property rights. The project focuses on the contemporary situation, with Estonia as a case and against the backdrop of the societal changes of the 20th century. The project draws on recent international scholarship in legal geography. Focus rests on the time- and place-bound fusion between formal law, the material landscape, and people’s property related actions. By interviewing landowners and planners, observing landscape changes, analysing maps and legal documents, the project is concerned with abstract and tangible articulations of property rights, and examines their harmonious or dissonant interaction. Improved understanding about the nature of property rights is of practical value also to Estonian authorities.