This article explores the expansion of informal property rights documents through the case of chiefs’ titles in Zambia. Entrepreneurial chiefs have created written land rights for citizens on customary land in the form of letters, signed maps, and certificates. These documents are an alternative to state land titling that allows chiefs to maintain their control over land. However, chiefs’ titles are extra-legal: they are enforced by the same traditional leaders who govern unwritten customary rights, raising doubt about whether written land rights can strengthen citizens’ land claims without changing the existing power structures. Evidence from 121 interviews with chiefs, bureaucrats, and smallholder farmers and a survey of over 5,500 citizens shows that, despite their flaws, chiefs’ titles do increase citizens’ perceptions of tenure security. This suggests that informal property rights documents can be a powerful tool in a citizen’s arsenal. Further, these findings illustrate a process of adaptation and change within customary land institutions.

中文翻译：

---

笔的力量：赞比亚的非正式产权文件

本文通过赞比亚酋长头衔的案例探讨了非正式产权文件的扩展。企业家领袖以信件、签名地图和证书的形式为公民在传统土地上创造了书面土地权利。这些文件是国家土地所有权的替代方案，允许酋长保持对土地的控制。然而，酋长的头衔是法外的：它们是由管理不成文习惯权利的同一位传统领导人强制执行的，这让人怀疑成文的土地权利是否可以在不改变现有权力结构的情况下加强公民的土地要求。来自对酋长、官僚和小农的 121 次采访以及对 5,500 多名公民的调查的证据表明，尽管存在缺陷，但酋长的头衔确实增加了公民对权属保障的看法。这表明非正式的产权文件可以成为公民武器库中的有力工具。此外，这些发现说明了传统土地制度的适应和变化过程。