Increasing drought and salinity tolerances in economically important trees adapted to dry land areas is key challenge for maintaining the socioeconomic welfare of dry land areas. Strategies to improve drought and salt tolerance must examine the tree physiological mechanisms that link to the trees survival and growth. This study examined physiological adaptive traits allowing Senegalia senegal to grow better in both saline and dry lands. We conducted two greenhouse experiments and one field study to characterize growth, photosynthetic capacity, water use efficiency (WUE) and gum arabic yield potential among different Senegalia senegal provenances. In the first experiment, we tested early growth and photosynthetic response of seed sources to a cyclic drought treatment. The second greenhouse study examined seed source response to drought, salinity and fertility conditions. Gum yield assessment, growth and WUE of mature trees were determined from a field trial. In general, results showed a high intra genetic variability of Senegalia senegal on gum yield, biomass accumulation and growth. Ngane provenance presented superior growth characteristics as both mature trees and seedlings and exhibited a more conservative water use strategy under drought. Both greenhouse studies revealed similar photosynthetic capacity among Senegalia senegal genotypes when conditions are not limiting. However, when factors such as salinity, fertility and severe drought are involved, different physiological and morphological responses appear and at times this was dependent on seed source. But, at moderate drought stress (chapter 2), no drought by provenance interaction was found. Results of chapter 3 revealed that Ngane has larger stomata with low density in comparison with Diamenar and Kidira provenances. With the exception of Ng21B1, all seed sources displayed similar adaptations to salt stress in term of biomass accumulation. Fertilizer increased total biomass of all seed sources from 63% to 213% for Ng21B1 and K17B19, respectively. However, salinity reduced the fertilizer effect on biomass increment. Leaf gas exchanges were affected by salinity and fertilizer within various responses among seed sources. Results of chapter 4 revealed that gum yield was found to be positively correlated with tree height, crown width, stem volume index and crown area index. Ngane and Diamenar appeared the best provenances in term of annual gum yield per hectare. Diamenar had a higher survival rate than Ngane. This finding reveals the need to consider the tradeoff between tree survival rate and individual tree gum yield in Senegalia senegal stands. In addition to being more sensitive to salinity, Ngane also seems to be more susceptible to low soil pH in terms of survival, but this result needs to be tested further. This study suggests that improvement of gum arabic production can be possible through genetic selection. But, for the best adapted genotypes, research should explore new genetic combination and investigate physiology and genetic diversity. Moreover, the findings on the relationship between soil pH and tree survival rate suggests a need for care in selecting appropriate sites for Senegalia senegal stands. Therefore, silviculture practices as well as genetic selection appear critical in improving gum arabic production. / Ph. D.

With the signing of the New Partnership Agreement (Cotonou Convention) between the European Union and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States in June 2000, the trading relationship between Senegal and the European Union (EU) has taken a new direction. Under the new agreement, Senegal must decide by 2004 if it will enter into a Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (REPA) with the EU, similar to a free trade arrangement, or move to an enhanced form of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Given the high percentage of Senegalese groundnut products that are exported to the European Union and the significance of the groundnut sector to the Senegalese economy, this study examines the economic impacts of both options on the Senegalese groundnut sector in conjunction with changes in development funding, infrastructural investments, and structural adjustment policies. Overall, the study finds that the REPA option is the more beneficial for the Senegalese groundnut sector. This result stems partially from the ability of increases in development funding to offset any adverse economic impacts caused by the REPA. Though overall more harmful than a REPA, moving to an enhanced GSP does have the benefit of increasing groundnut (in-shell and shelled) exports by a significant amount. Thus, the Senegalese government must weigh the benefit of a boost in the confectionery sector against the adverse impact on producers caused by the GSP. This study provides needed information for policy decisions by the Senegalese government, and a framework for future modeling efforts pertaining to the Senegalese groundnut sector. / Master of Science

Peanut production has been decreasing in Senegal over the past decades for historical, political, economic and environmental reasons. One of the solutions proposed by recent Senegalese administrations is to increase production through agricultural research and the development of peanut varieties that are adapted to the environmental constraints in Senegal. The last variety developed is La Fleur 11, which is very drought tolerant. The purpose of the study is to assess the economic impact of research on La Fleur 11 on the Senegalese economy through an ex-ante evaluation of the net social benefits from the adoption of this new variety. In order to fulfill this objective, an economic surplus analysis is conducted within the framework of a partial equilibrium model. Results indicate that the net social benefits from the adoption of La Fleur 11 are positive. Assuming that all peanut supply is sold to SONACOS at a producer base price and that research evaluation is conducted at the farm-level, Consumers (SONACOS) are the main beneficiaries from research. Their benefits are on average 6 times producers' (farmers). The research-induced increase in the government cost of the subsidy represents 84 percent on average of consumers' and producers' benefits; the research-induced increase in net social welfare represents 16 percent on average of consumers' and producers' benefits. The internal rate of return averages around 43 percent. When peanut markets are disaggregated, research benefits consumers (SONACOS) 3 times more than producers (farmers) at the farm level. Most of producers' benefits come from farm household consumption (47 percent of total farm-level benefits) and most of consumers' benefits come from the official seed market. At the SONACOS-level where peanut oil and cakes are exported, research benefits producers (SONACOS) only; consumers (rest of the world) do not benefit from research at this level. The IRR is more likely to be about 42 percent. This study suggests that future investments in agricultural research in Senegal can result in a positive economic impact provided that other actions are undertaken regarding extension, credit, and input distribution in order to enhance adoption and take advantage of the yield potential of the new peanut varieties. Also, this study provides a procedure of research evaluation for future use in Senegal and West Africa. / Master of Science

This thesis examines representations of the French educational system in Senegal as presented in L'aventure ambiguë and L'appel des arènes. Each unfolding respectively within a colonial and postcolonial Senegalese context, the novels problematize the French school system by incorporating representations of its failures. As this thesis will argue, analyzing each author's educational discourse will unmask a Senegalese perspective on a French institution, showcase various ways that Senegalese students internalized their educational experience and provide representations of the ways in which French education could be, and was, utilized by its pupils. Using two African novels in French to interpret historical experience will facilitate understanding of the French educational system from a Senegalese perspective. The first chapters create a foundation for analysis: Chapter two explains French goals and objectives when implementing a formal educational system in West Africa, while chapter three explores the form and function of the African novel in order to present it as a useful historical tool. Having defined the African novel in French as a viable means to interpret historical experience, chapter four focuses analysis on revealing how a system that was meant to procure French dominance, was ultimately transformed into a tool for Senegalese advantage. / Master of Arts

La tesi presenta un’analisi sociolinguistica del ruolo delle lingue francese e italiano nel contesto dell’immigrazione, in particolare presso la comunità senegalese francofona immigrata a Brescia. Nella prima parte, il primo capitolo è dedicato al Senegal, che viene illustrato nei suoi tratti storici, etnici, culturali, religiosi e di cui viene descritto l’attuale quadro linguistico. Viene anche ricostruita l’evoluzione della diaspora senegalese in Europa e in Italia nelle sue diverse fasi. Il secondo capitolo si focalizza su Brescia, città d’elezione dei migranti senegalesi in Italia, a causa delle sue caratteristiche socio-economiche che la rendono territorio particolarmente adatto alla creazione di reti di solidarietà fra senegalesi e autoctoni. La seconda parte è interamente dedicata all’analisi sociolinguistica delle lingue in gioco in questo contesto d’immigrazione. L’indagine si basa su venti interviste fatte a un campione di senegalesi residenti a Brescia, dalle quali emergono le pratiche linguistiche e le rappresentazioni linguistiche dei soggetti rispetto alle lingue conosciute e parlate. Le conclusioni della tesi consistono in un bilancio d’insieme del lavoro svolto e in una rilettura del metodo adottato per la conduzione dell'inchiesta. / This thesis presents a sociolinguistic analysis of the role of French and Italian in the migration context, notably in the community of francophone Senegalese immigrants in Brescia. In the first part, the first chapter is dedicated to Senegal, which is described in its historical, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic features. The evolution of the Senegalese diaspora in Europe and Italy is also tackled in its different stages. The second chapter focuses on Brescia, elective hometown of the Senegalese in Italy, because of it socio-economic features which make it a territory particularly favorable to the creation of solidarity networks between Senegalese and Italians. The second part is entirely dedicated to the sociolinguistic analysis of the languages involved in this context. The survey is based on twenty interviews made with a sample of Senegalese immigrants in Brescia, from which the linguistic practices and representations of the subjects, about the languages known and spoken, emerge. In the conclusions of the thesis, a global view on the research carried out and on the method adopted for the survey will be given.

This thesis investigates the preconditions for a new type of migration among the highly skilled between Senegal and the EU, namely circular migration. The three most prominent actors in the shaping of the future migration pattern –the EU (administration), the Senegalese government and the future highly skilled migrants i.e. Senegalese university students –are studied by a combination of social constructivism and critical discourse analysis. The discourses are derived from official EU and Senegalese documents and from a survey as well as from semi-structured interviews with students at the two largest universities in Senegal. The analysis of the discourses shows three factors that point towards a change of the migration practice in favour of circular migration: first, an interdiscursivity between the migration, development and economic growth discourses; second, a resemblance between the three actors discourses on migration; and third, a willingness among all three actors to act for a mobility of knowledge and experience. Consequently, there are preconditions for circular migration between Senegal and the EU.

[pt] A tese coloca em evidência a produção literária e artística contemporânea do continente africano, tendo como fio condutor e pano de fundo a viagem que fiz durante o PDSE (Programa de Doutorado Sanduíche no Exterior). A partir da noção de que a África é um continente que foi relegado durante séculos ao espaço de falta, de hipossuficiência (SARR, 2016), e de que esse discurso precisa ser modificado em favor de uma África que vem (MBEMBE, 2018), que se apresenta com outras realidades e produções intelectuais e artísticas, minha ida à Nigéria catalisa o encontro de novos escritores e artistas plásticos africanos, residentes no continente e em diáspora. Trago ao longo da tese escritores e artistas de quatro espaços diferentes: TJ Dema, poeta do Botsuana, que trabalha com literatura oral e escrita, unindo a tradição setsuana da poesia com a inglesa; Emmanuel Iduma, ensaísta, crítico de arte e escritor de ficção nigeriano, que atualmente mora em Nova Iorque; Dami Ajayi, poeta nigeriano, parceiro de Iduma na criação e edição de uma revista literária; Ayobami Adébáyọ̀, romancista nigeriana, que escreve a partir do encontro da tradição iorubá com o romance inglês; Peju Alatise, artista visual nigeriana, que em sua obra discute a condição da mulher na sociedade nigeriana; Ladan Osman, poeta, que surge com as fotografias que fez para SarabaMag, a revista de Emmanuel Iduma e Dami Ajayi; Aminata Sow Fall, romancista senegalesa que começa a publicar em 1976, sendo importante na chamada literatura de desencanto dos países de expressão francesa; Djibril Diallo Falémé, escritor senegalês que utiliza em sua escrita formas orais tradicionais; Victor Ehikhamenor, artista visual nigeriano, que trabalha com influências do tradicional e do ocidental em sua obra; Zakes Mda, artista visual e escritor sul-africano, best-seller em seu país; Yewande Omotoso, escritora sul-africana nascida no Caribe. A diversidade destes artistas e escritores, bem como dos objetos por eles produzidos, apresentados ao longo da tese, permite que se tenha uma visão ampla do que Achille Mbembe e Felwine Sarr chamaram em uma entrevista ao jornal francês l Humanité em junho de 2017 de modernidade não ocidental, um espaço de pensamento e criação que não subjuga os deuses e tradições ao racional e ao instrumental. / [en] This thesis showcases the artistic and literary production of the African continent, using the time I spent there during my PhD PDSE (Sandwich PhD Program) as background. Beginning with the idea that Africa as a continent has been for centuries placed in the place of lack, of insufficiency (SARR, 2016), and that this common sense must be changed to a new Africa that comes (MBEMBE, 2018), that presents itself with others realities and intellectual and artistic productions, my trip to Nigeria is a catalysis of the meeting of new African writers and artists , living in the continent or abroad in diaspora. I bring along the thesis writers and artists from four different places: TJ Dema, Botswana poet, who works with oral and written literature, uniting the Setswana tradition of poetry and the English one; Emmanuel Iduma, Nigerian essayist, art critic and writer of fiction, who currently lives in New York; Dami Ajayi, Nigerian poet, Iduma s partner in the creation and editing of a literary magazine; Ayobami Adébáyọ̀, Nigerian novelist, who writes from the confluence of the Yoruba tradition with the English novel; Peju Alatise, Nigerian visual artist, who discusses in her work the women role in Nigerian society; Ladan Osman, poet, that appears with the photographs he made for the SarabaMag, magazine of Emmanuel Iduma and Dami Ajayi; Aminata Sow Fall, a Senegalese novelist who began publishing in 1976, important in the so-called literature of disenchantment of the French expression countries; Djibril Diallo Falémé, Senegalese writer that uses traditional oral forms in his writing; Victor Ehikhamenor, Nigerian visual artist, who works the influences of the traditional and the western; Zakes Mda, visual artist and South African writer, a bestseller in his country; Yewande Omotoso, a South African writer born in the Caribbean. The multiplicity of these artists and writers, as well as the objects that they produce presented throughout the thesis, gives a broad view of what Achille Mbembe and Felwine Sarr have called in an interview for the French newspaper l Humanité in June 2017 of a non-Western modernity, a space of thought and creativity that does not subjugate the gods and traditions to the rational and instrumental.

Cette recherche sur le Togo est une contribution à la problématique du développement sportif et ses enjeux dans les pays d’Afrique francophone. Elle s’inscrit dans une optique pluridisciplinaire et comparative axée sur les méthodes de géographie du sport. Elle procède également à relecture des marqueurs historiques du contexte togolais.Dès le début du XXe siècle, l’impact de trois dominations coloniales (allemande, anglaise et française) est à l’origine, de l’implantation et de la diffusion des pratiques sportives au Togo. Après 1960, année de l’indépendance, le développement sportif, en continuité avec le legs colonial français, est pris en charge par l’Etat et devient un outil de contrôle social au service d’un régime autoritaire de type militaire. L’analyse de l’état des lieux actuel du sport au Togo montre la centralisation de l’action de l’Etat sur le sport d’élite, le déploiement de différents marchés sportifs et l’apparition de différents phénomènes sociaux dont la réappropriation des pratiques sportives et l’entraide communautaire.La comparaison des processus de diffusion identifiés au Togo avec ceux à l’œuvre dans les anciennes colonies de l’Afrique Occidentale Française notamment le Bénin et le Sénégal permet de dégager de nouvelles perspectives : l’utilisation des activités physiques traditionnelles ou modernes pour la mobilisation sociale et l’entretien d’une élite sportive. Ces deux axes sont complémentaires et nécessaires à l’élaboration d’un développement sportif inscrit dans la durée. / This research on Togo is aimed at contributing to the resolution of sports development problems and addressing its challenges in francophone African countries. The approach employed is multidisciplinary and comparative, based on the methods of sports geography. Moreover, it revisits key historical milestones in a Togolese context.Since the early twentieth century, the impact of three colonial dominations (German, English and French) was responsible for the origin, establishment and dissemination of sports in Togo. After 1960, the year of independence, sports development in continuity with the legacy of French colonial rule, was supported by the state and became a tool of social control by the authoritarian, military-style regime. The analysis of the current state of sports in Togo shows the centralization of state action on elite sports, the deployment of different sports markets and the emergence of different social phenomena such as appropriation and communal support.Comparison of the differences in methods of propagation identified in Togo and those at work in former West African French colonies such as Benin and Senegal exposes new opportunities: the use of physical activities, both traditional and modern for social mobilization and the maintenance of a sports elite. Both of which are complimentary and necessary for the development of sports for the long term.

Le présent travail de recherche porte sur l’asymétrie des échanges interculturels dans les relations partenariales entre des organismes du Nord et du Sud. D’un tâtonnement exploratoire à la constitution d’un cadre d’analyse combinant plusieurs approches, cette recherche s’intéresse particulièrement aux partenariats entre des organisations non gouvernementales, des associations et des entreprises à but socioéconomique françaises et sénégalaises. L’analyse de ces relations partenariales se fait à trois niveaux : autour de l’acteur, ses logiques et les situations de coopération. Elle s’appuie sur des modèles théoriques et conceptuels notamment sur la problématique des rationalités, de la créativité des acteurs et des logiques de partenariat. Les relations partenariales s’inscrivent de ce fait dans ce qu’on pourrait appréhender comme un double mouvement de transaction socio-historique à la fois structurelle et structurale.En effet, le partenariat actuel entre organismes participe d’une métamorphose bien plus globale qui prend en compte les évolutions d’un monde en mutation permanente. Il résulte également d’un processus d’évolution des relations franco-sénégalaises.L’analyse des relations nouvelles et des alternatives de partenariat propose une sociologie des relations partenariales qui questionnent les discours et les pratiques de coopération dans le cadre d’échanges interculturels structurés et semi-structurés.L’analyse proposée permet ainsi de répondre à l’interrogation suivante : ces relations obéissent-elles à des logiques de domination, de réciprocité, de fraternalisme ou d’asymétrie ? / This research work focuses on the asymmetry of the intercultural exchanges within the partner relationships between the North and the South organizations. We particularly put emphasis on partner relationships between nongovernmental organizations and companies with a socio-economic vocation in France and in Senegal.The analysis of these partner relationships is done at three levels: on the partner, his logic and the cooperation situations. This relies on theoretical and conceptual models such as Weber’s (Weber M., 1964) comprehensive approach that emphasizes on rational actions, Boltanski’s, (Boltanski, 1990) normative action analysis model, Mauss’ (Mauss, 2007) reciprocal donation model, Joas’s (Joas H. , 1999) critical theory that highlights the creative nature that human actions have and Remy’s (Remy, 2005/1) social transaction theory. Partner relationships are then part of what could be tackled as a double issue of socio-historical transaction both structural and organisational. In fact, today’s partnerships between organizations are part of a much more global change taking into account the evolution of a permanently changing world. It thus arises on an evolution process of France-Senegal relationships. The analysis of new relationships and other partnership alternatives suggests a sociology of partner relationships that questions the today’s cooperation discourses and practices concerning structured and semi-structured intercultural exchanges. The analysis that we propose makes it possible to answer the following question: Do these relations follow a common sense of domination, reciprocity, fraternalism (Césaire, 1956) or asymmetry ?

La « présence chinoise » en Afrique est devenue une réalité démographique incontournable, elle a pris de l'ampleur au cours des dernières années ; la diaspora chinoise sur le territoire africain représente pas moins d'un million de personnes, contre moins de 100 000 en 2001. Afin d'appréhender notre objet de recherche, et saisir les mécanismes économiques intrinsèques aux sociétés africaines, nous adopterons une approche « par le bas » car le niveau local semble plus approprié pour comprendre les ressorts de la croissance économique. / The "Chinese presence" in Africa has become an inescapable demographic reality, it has grown in recent years the Chinese Diaspora on the African territory is not less than one million people, against less than 100 000 in 2001. To understand our research object, and capture the economic mechanisms intrinsic to African societies, we adopt an approach "bottom" because the local level seems more appropriate to understand the springs of economic growth.