Under what conditions? With respect to what?

I

A young researcher had just written up a case study of traditional irrigation in one of the districts that fell under the Government of Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) Programme. (We’re in the early 1980s.) I remember reading his report and getting excited. Here was detailed information about really-existing irrigation practices and constraints sufficient to pinpoint opportunities for improvement. That was, until I turned to the conclusions: What was really needed was a country-wide land reform.

Huh? Where did that come from? Not from the details and findings in the report!

This was my introduction to pre-existing solutions in search of new problems they should “solve.” Only later did I realize I should have asked him, “What kind of land reform with respect to what and under what conditions at your research site?”

II

Someone asserts that this policy or approach holds broadly, and that triggers your asking:

• Under what conditions?
• With respect to what?
• As opposed to what?
• What is this a case of?
• What are you–and we–missing?

Under what conditions does what you’re saying actually hold? Risk or uncertainty with respect to what failure scenario? Settler colonialism as opposed to what? Just what is this you are talking about a case of? What are you and I missing that’s right in front us?