Madagascar, île immobile ?

Abstract

Who does not know Madagascar very well, this isolated island in the South East of Africa may seem motionless because of mobility processes which are not spectacular. When considering not only global data and indicators but mainly spatial practices of the inhabitants of the Big Island at different scales, then a different picture appears. As a matter of fact, there are Malagasy elites emigrating in Northern countries. There are also migrants settling in Madagascar. Although they are not numerous, they illustrate the way the country gets more and more involved in global flows (e.g. Chinese shopkeepers). Inside the country many pioneer fronts (rushes) have recently been developed, based on agricultural goods intended to export (shrimps, litchis) or gem deposits. They create dense mobilities, they lead to spatial evolutions and foreign migrants get involved in these new activities. Permanent and seasonal migrations are also well developed and lead to a new distribution of the different ethnic groups. Finally, dense mobilities exist in the urban eras (intra-urban mobilities and urban-rural exchanges). They convey economic crises but they also reveal new strategies to adapt and overcome these difficulties. The case of Madagascar here studied with a multiscale approach can help studying other Southern countries which are too often considered as standing apart from mobilities due to the consequences of globalisation whereas they are in fact fully concerned by these processes which transform spaces and societies.

Keywords

• Madagascar
• mobilities
• emigration
• pioneer front
• seasonal migrations
• globalisation