Neoliberal conservation and the potential for lawfare: New legal entities and the political ecology of litigation at Dwesa-Cwebe, South Africa

► Neoliberalization of conservation may foster a turn to law as the medium of political struggle. ► “Rights-based” conservation, land restitution, and titling of communal property present unanticipated risks. ► Constituting communities as legal entities may create vulnerability to antagonistic litigation.