Contenu du sommaire : Mauritanie, la démocratie au coup par coup

Democratisation and social renegotiation
Despite a chaotic trajectory, the implementation of democratic reforms has played a key role in the emancipation of groups of servile origin in Mauritania since the 1990s. Analysing what is at stake in their political participation leads to questioning their strategies and modes of actionas well as their relationships with the hierarchical order. It also implies to understand how elected politicians of servile origin have emerged within the larger framework of longer-term dynamics of emancipation and the reshaping of local powers. The study of ongoing social renegotiations among servile groups is a good entry point to reveal the embeddedness of political power in local social networks.

The consequences of the repatriation of Mauritanian refugees on identities and politics
This paper explores the sociopolitical implications of the repatriation of Mauritanian refugees from Senegal, highlighting its consequences in terms of remobilizing discourses on autochtony and exacerbating social relationships around racial oppositions. The strategic reappropriation of the discourse on « national reconciliation » by local and national actors is discussed, as well as the revival of old political divisions within the so-called « black Mauritanian community ». Lastly, the transnational and multilocal dimensions of local dynamics is highlighted, as well as the limits of « repatriation », defined by international law as the most appropriate durable solution for refugee situations.

The politics of islamist narratives in Mauritania
What are the various meanings of the concept of « Islamism » in Mauritania ? What are the political consequences that derive from the use of that word and its multiple meanings ? These questions are significant because concepts such as « Islamism » and the like are at the very core of today's representations of Mauritanian politics. To answer these questions, this article first presents the events that have constituted the narrative of Islamism in Mauritania. Then, it compares the ways in which state officials (national and foreign) are talking about Islamism in Mauritania in the post-9/11 era with earlier narratives. Today's discourses on Islamism have historical roots that go back to the outset of the colonial era (1945-1960), eventually reactivated in the early 1990s : dichotomous categories that contrast a « local and loyal Islam » with a « foreign and radical Islam » have a long history. Finally, three research avenues are explored for a more accurate analysis of the reappropriation by local actors and networks of concepts like « Islamism », « Salafism » or « Wahabbism. »

Offshore Mauritania. Economic extraversion, the state and the ruling strata
The process of extraversion is in the heart of the functioning of the Mauritanian State. In the long lasting, it produced a political and commercial elite which knew how to value the mining and fishing resources of the country. With the stake in exploitation of new resources (oil and gold), the extraversion recently strengthened. The international connections multiply, in particular with the countries of the Gulf, and facilitate businessmen powerful and inserted well into the first circles of the power. The « offshore Mauritania » dominates henceforth on the inside of the country and the society, from which elites disconnect gradually.

Baptism of fire. The EU force in Chad and the Central African Republic
Can the European Union be both a strategic and a neutral actor in sub-Saharan Africa ? Eufor Tchad/RCA, whose 3 700 troops were sent to protect of Sudanese refugees and internally displaced persons in Chad and the Central African Republic, has the most difficult military operation for the EU since the launch of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), in 1998. Afflicted by a first human casualty, a fairly bad press, harsh criticism on the part of local actors, and serious risks of mission creep or even failure, the ESDP was baptised by fire in Chad and Centrafrique. Taking stock of this mission, which officially ended in March 2009, this article highlights the main issues faced by Eufor. After on outline the context of the intervention, the text discussed the conditions that led the EU to the deployment of a military force, its modus operandi, the debate among EU member states, and the connection between Eufor and the development of ESDP.

Omar Bongo Ondimba, paradigme du pouvoir postcolonial
The death of President Omar Bongo Ondimba, soon after his wife's, is a political and symbolic event which highlights the relationship between death and power, within a paradigmatic framework of war and hunting. According to this paradigm, the longstanding governance of the Gabonese President is the result of an unending work of protection, resistance, attack and counter-attack against domestic and external threats. This contribution provides a political and anthropological interpretation of Omar Bongo's death who, by himself, incarnated the paradigm of postcolonial power in Africa.

The construction of peasant movements and the elaboration of agricultural politics in Subsaharan AfricaSenegal promulgated a major law on agriculture in 2004. During the elaboration of this law, a civil society organisation representing the Senegalese farmers and rural dwellers played a key role and succeeded in influencing significantly the drafting of the law, in spite of a rather unfavourable political context. This article analyses the stages and the conditions which made possible this work of influence while underlining the fragility of the social actors in presence and coalitions which they form.

International migrants in West African cities
West Africa and its cities have not escaped the recent academic interest for international migrations stirred by both state-sponsored research and fascination for transnational experiences. International migrants going North and the remittances they send to their country of origin have drawn too much attention, while internal migrations within African countries and Africa have been comparatively neglected. This article intends to bridge this gap, focusing on Bamako and Accra as case studies. It reveals the complex criss-crossing residential circulations, competitions among migrants over access to resources, especially over land, and the process by which migrants seek political legitimacy in cities.