Constructing the Local in Madagascar: Resistance and Politics of Scale

Abstract

Madagascar has historically served as an experimental ground for various externally led political and economic interventions and ideologies. This article uses the concept of scale to explore how these interventions have contributed to (re)defining and manipulating the local in Madagascar, at both epistemological and material levels. By focusing on three key periods (colonialism, postindependence socialist and communist policies, and contemporary peace processes), we show that the local in Madagascar has been associated with multiple, sometimes conflicting practices andinterpretations, but that these understandings also constitute a source of power and resistance for Malagasy actors, possibly contributing to recurrent conflicts.