Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DySoMa (The Dynamics of Solidarity on Madagascar: An Ethnography of Political Conflicts and Appeasement Strategies in the Context of a Pronounced Consens Norm)

Teaser

The scientific challenge set up by the project is to understand and explain the bias toward non-violence on the island of Madagascar since the 20th century. The silent turn toward an avoidance of physical violence by the Malagasy society constitutes a marked contrast to...

Summary

The scientific challenge set up by the project is to understand and explain the bias toward non-violence on the island of Madagascar since the 20th century. The silent turn toward an avoidance of physical violence by the Malagasy society constitutes a marked contrast to theories on the origins of disorder in sub-Saharan African countries since Independence, to recurrent ideas on peacebuilding, and to the focus on war and violence. Specifically, the ongoing investigation aims to gather data on the recently built state institution of national reconciliation, which is connected to the recurrent normativity of solidarity based upon Malagasy values, and to focus further on the mechanism of conflict solution in rural areas by focusing on the problem of insecurity, the creation of village conventions (dina), and vigilante organizations.

The investigation touches on fundamental social and cultural questions of urgency in Madagascar and beyond. How can we understand the specificity of the island with respect to a turn toward the rejection of physical violence on one side, and the high esteem of a morality of solidarity putting high social pressure on those trying to deviate? Finding answers to these questions not only allows for a better understanding of the Malagasy trajectory but also offers a rare opportunity to address the universal problem of conflict from the rarely taken perspective of a “success story”.Thus, the research contributes to the understanding of conflict and conflict solution, adding to the challenge to “Secure Societies” and to the managing of social crisis affecting “Europe in a changing world,” two priorities defined by the European Union.

Work performed

Field work focused on (1) the constitutional institution “Committee of Fampihavanana Malagasy” (CFM, i.e. Committee of Malagasy Reconciliation), located in central Antananarivo, and (2) village conventions (dina) and vigilante structures fighting against insecurity.

(1) This first-time-ever investigation on the CFM recorded unique data in the context of a remarkable period of socio-political dynamics and conflict solution in Madagascar. The period 2016–2017 marked the end of the first three-year mandate of the CFM followed by a restructuring and a long application procedure. The year 2018, however, proved to be particularly rewarding for the investigation, as the presidential elections were scheduled. The CFM was very active throughout this time. The research recorded a unique moment in Malagasy history; for the first time in nearly six decades of Independency, a democratic change of presidential power succeeded without leading (so far) to the famous cycle of crisis, repeatedly described as a typical aspect of politics in Madagascar.

A conservative impetus, the valorization of “Malagasiness,” is the driving force behind recent institutions like the CFM and explains this somehow artificial or somehow awkward institutional invention, which is still in the phase of adaptation to the necessities of the Malagasy state. The CFM represents a new kind of expression of the normativity or morality of “solidarity” (fihavanana), which has developed into a central foundation of national identity in the 20th century. It became clear throughout the research that the phenomenological turn from war to peace is the unintended result of this specific process toward the kind of “moral identity” sketched.

(2) The research on village conventions (dina) and the establishment of law and order based on popular concepts of law conducted in middle west Madagascar was the first systematic and scientific investigation on these Malagasy phenomena. Beyond the village conventions, it was possible to record data on totally new vigilante organizations in Madagascar, allowing to embed the Malagasy dynamics for the first time in a greater horizon of global vigilantism.
The field work has succeeded in documenting several village conventions in the Bongolava, Menaba, and Melaky regions. Further, a totally new dynamic of vigilantism could be observed, replacing the village conventions in a creative way. The investigations revealed two groups in the research area (more exist in other regions): the so-called Zazamainty (literally “the children of the black”) and Lambamena (literally “red clothes”). At present, many thousands (probably several 10 thousands) of villagers in western Madagascar are supporting each other in the case of emergency and thereby contributing to the restoration of order.

(3) Resume of overall results: The turn toward peace is a side effect of a conservative turn toward tradition including, quite unusually, the foundation of national identity on consensual values like “Malagasy solidarity” (fihavanana gasy). Beyond the case studies and the important progress made for the understanding of Malagasy society, the results inspire important theoretical questions and reflections on the explanation given to the dynamic of war and violence in post-colonial Africa, often assumed as an automatic one, on the importance of normativity and socialization for conflict resolution, and on methods of peacebuilding.

Final results

The research established a surprising and inspiring result: The turn from war to peace in the 20th century should be understood as an involuntary side-effect of a special Malagasy nation-building around the ideas of solidarity or traditional Malagasy values. The CFM and other institutions of reconciliation on the national level, as well as the village conventions or the new vigilante structures, are expressions of the sketched dynamic of morality and normativity. In other words, the conservative turn toward national values has led, incidentally, to a turn toward appeasement and consent.

This result is not just of relevance for understanding the Malagasy case, but it also makes a very important statement of universal value: war, physical violence, and (post-colonial) disorder are not the inevitable outcomes of a problematic past and present (of colonialism, social rupture, or poverty) or of an intrinsic aggressive aspect of humanity, but they are shaped by our emotions, i.e. by socialization and the patterns and morality transported through socialization.

The central result expected is the establishment of a clear link between the normative idea of “solidarity” (and “Malagasy values”), as it is acquired within the socio-cultural context through a long process of socialization, and the observation of successful conflict de-escalation in Madagascar.

Potential impacts: The research project and its scientific challenge were presented through the Office for Public Relations of the University of Halle to German media and journalists. The project was presented and discussed further at public meetings of the German embassy in Antananarivo and to the academic public at the University of Antananarivo. Public discussions (“peace and conflict talks”) were organized on two occasions. The project was further presented on two occasions within the context of an international school in Antananarivo, the French High School (lycée francais). These efforts will be continued by press releases or by participation in Halle’s successful “Night of Science.”

Website & more info

More info: https://blogs.urz.uni-halle.de/dysoma/beispiel-seite/.