In this public lecture, I seek to unpack the global dimensions of land acquisition and concomitant dispossession in South East Asia. I do this via explorations of the range of actors (states, corporations), transnational networks, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society, and institutions (norms, rules and procedures) implicated in these processes. In doing so, my aim is to elucidate the various power relations— spanning multiple scales— that characterise these contemporary phenomena, and depict this using case studies from varied contexts. I will draw on my primary research in Cambodia, as well as draw on examples from Indonesia and Laos in my lecture.