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Since its independence, the production of the Indian state at its Himalayan border has been largely driven by geopolitical concerns. The assertion of Indian sovereignty in the high mountains of the historically isolated region of Ladakh is achieved through militarization and the development of road infrastructure. What are the consequences of the military production of road infrastructure for populations living in border regions? The history of road building in northwest India is evidence of arbitrary development that marginalizes parts of the border area that have little strategic interest. Using the case of Zanskar, this article examines a material dimension of citizenship in India, as the construction of roads constitutes a technopolitical terrain on which a community engages the state. In particular, in order to tackle the problem of isolation created by an underdeveloped road network, Zanskarpas use different tactics, from taking care of road building through local initiatives to putting forward the military argument in order to call on the State to invest in the completion of roads.

Keywords: Gagné, Inde, Himalaya, région frontalière, infrastructure, technopolitique, citoyenneté, Gagné, India, Himalayas, border area, infrastructure, technopolitics, citizenship, Gagné, India, Himalaya, región fronteriza, infraestructura, tecnopolítica, ciudadanía

This article addresses the ways in which distance by way of the notion of the radical other highlights the isolation felt by the protagonist of the comic strip Shenzhen (2000) by Guy Delisle. I argue that this notion of distance informs the aesthetic of the book. The character evolves apart, psychologically separated from the environments he frequents, incapable of communicating or even communing with the other. Thus, I show that Guy Delisle participates in the reshaping of a new image of China, very different from that which was circulating at the time of the Quiet Revolution in Québec.

European maps from the 15th to 20th century were used in the conception and transcription of the territorial reorganisation of African states. These maps reveal certain mythic aspects in western colonial shaping of these modem African states and in the ethical discourse that their emergence raises. In Africa, indigenous epic myths express how local people like those of Cameroon have lived with these territorial divisions and how they are still reacting to traditional and modem changes at every level. Thus, the powerful capacity of myths to lead to an interactive use of the geographic complexity and the production of social and political complication is illustrated. Subjected to both moral manipulation and epical expression, territorial reorganisation necessarily leads to ethical and epic myths being used as valuable resources. In fact, the creation of territories needs aspects of fantastic imagination and invites ideological manipulations and their denunciation.

Keywords: cartes, Afrique, Cameroun, Yom, mythes éthiques, mythes épiques, colonisation, pays, découpage du territoire, maps, Africa, Cameroon, Yom, ethic myths, epic myths, colonisation, country, territorial partition

Between 1950 and 1970, espionage has had considerable success throughout Europe. Films, television series, and collections of novels, comic strips, or photonovels are distributed by the hundreds and circulate widely between countries, thus contributing to the redefinition of a European cultural identity and to its homogenization through translations, co-productions and agreements between publishers. Marked by a strong serialization of discourse, these narratives help to redefine the European imaginaries in the aftermath of the upheavals of the Second World War. Marginalized on the international scene, weakened in its former colonial territories, traumatized by past conflicts between nations, Europe reinvents itself in these works, staging logics of inter-state collaboration and redefining its geopolitical representations. It negotiates between recognizing its decline and asserting its role in new ways. But it is also in the sphere of manners, sexuality, or consumption that the tale of espionage reflects the tensions that go through the changing societies of The Glorious Thirty, in a discourse that oscillates between fascination and repression. In this respect, even though they are low-end productions intended for entertainment, and perhaps for this very reason, the tales of espionage demonstrate the ability of serial productions to account for the mutations of the imaginaries in coping with the transformations of an era.

This article proposes a comparative reading of two short stories, whose authors benefited from the network built around the prestigious Caine Prize : « The Sale » by Tendai Huchu (Zimbabwe, 2012) and « The Road Workers of Chalbi » by Dalle Abraham (Kenya, 2015). The two short stories exhibit important thematic and formal differences : one is set in contemporary times and describes the relationships of Kenyan villagers and Chinese workers, characterised by an obsessive fear of rape ; the other projects itself into a distant future to imagine « the sale » of Zimbabwe to a Sino-American capitalist empire. In spite of these diverging narrative options, the two short stories nevertheless paint a similar portrait of Chinafrica, which can also be found in the pages of the Black Panther comic book scenarized by Reginald Hudlin : in this respect, they are part of what could be called a literary geopolitics, featuring at least three decisive actors – China, Africa, and the West (Europe and America).

Keywords: afrofuturisme, géopolitique littéraire, Kenya, Zimbabwe, anthologies, études culturelles

Keywords: espaces frontaliers, communication interculturelle

Ce mémoire est une contribution à la réflexion sur l’importance de l’international dans la théorie sociologique. Il cherche à poursuivre le dialogue initié par les chercheurs.res en sociologie historique et en relations internationales afin de résoudre les limites des approches héritées de la sociologie classique. Ces dernières s’appuient trop souvent sur une logique internaliste, et postulent qu’il existe une voie de développement standard à partir de laquelle on peut comparer le degré de modernité de processus de transformations sociales. Ces limites sont particulièrement évidentes en sociologie du nationalisme, une discipline qui est demeurée plutôt perméable aux enjeux théoriques soulevés par ce dialogue. Pendant longtemps, les chercheurs.res oeuvrant dans ce champ ont eu tendance à considérer leurs objets (les nations, les États nationaux et le nationalisme) …