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L’insularité a toujours fasciné et fait l’objet de nombreux champs d’étude scientifiques. Cette thèse traite l’insularité comorienne sous l’angle de la géographie politique en tenant compte des apports théoriques et empiriques des autres disciplines. De l’époque précoloniale à la colonisation à l’indépendance et jusqu’à nos jours, les rivalités de pouvoir sur l’espace comorien rythment et ont toujours rythmé la vie politique de la nation comorienne pourtant cimentée par une seule et unique identité culturelle. Pour tenter de comprendre les ressorts de la conflictualité comorienne et appréhender les équilibres territoriaux ce travail vise à étudier la complexité géographique et le creuset identitaire et historique. Centrée sur les causes endogènes et exogènes de cet écartèlement politique, notre étude tend également à dévoiler les réalités géopolitiques de l’archipel des Comores. L’insularité serait-elle un milieu à forte propension à l’instabilité et à la fragmentation politique ? Comment maintenir l’ensemble comorien dans une cohésion politique tout en reconnaissant à chaque entité composite une autonomie réelle ? Les Comores n’ont jamais cessé de vaciller entre division et unité politique. Quel système politique serait-il adéquat à la configuration géographique des Comores, capable de contenir les forces centrifuges ? Ces interrogations essentielles constituent la trame de notre travail de recherche. / Many scientific studies have dealt with the fascinating subject of insularity. This thesis deals with Comorian insularity in terms of political geography, taking into account the empirical and theoretical contributions of other fields. From the pre-colonial era of colonization to independence until today, the Comorian nation, despite its single cultural identity, has always encountered political power rivalries. To try to understand the reasons behind the Comorian conflict and the territorial stability of the nation, this work studies the complexity, the geographical identity and the history of the Comoros islands. Centered on the endogenous and exogenous causes of this political dismemberment, our study also aims to reveal the geopolitical realities of the Comoros archipelago. Are the Comoros moderately to highly prone to political instability and fragmentation? How to maintain the country's political cohesion while recognizing each composite entity's genuine autonomy? The archipelago has never stopped oscillating between unity and political division. Which type of political system would be suitable for the geographical context of the Comoros, to contain the centrifugal forces? These are the essential questions of our research work.

L'allocation peu optimale de l'Aide Publique au Développement, la performance avérée de certaines des Petites Économies Insulaires en Développement ainsi que le problème de définition de ce groupe de pays nous amènent à nous poser la question suivante : le traitement spécifique des PEID de la part des institutions internationales est-il justifié ? Nous nous sommes de prime abord focalisés sur les caractéristiques intrinsèques de ces petites économies, qui les rendent a priori plus exposées aux chocs externes. La première partie de notre analyse a ainsi eu pour but d'évaluer la vulnérabilité économique de ces territoires. Certaines des économies étant reconnues comme vulnérables affichent des résultats de performance économique et sociale remarquables. Afin de tenir compte de ce paradoxe, nous nous sommes attachés à quantifier cette performance de développement, de manière à aborder notre second thème : la performance de résilience de ces territoires. Notre analyse nous permet quelques constats intéressants. Premièrement, la définition des concepts est un réel problème. Deuxièmement, bien qu'avérée, la vulnérabilité des PEID se trouve nuancée par le changement de construction de l'Indicateur de Vulnérabilité Économique que nous proposons. Troisièmement, la performance économique et sociale de certaines économies insulaires est indéniable. Quatrièmement, bien que le caractère résilient des PEID soit confirmé par notre analyse, cette résilience est particulièrement hétérogène au sein de ce groupe de pays. Enfin, l'étude des stratégies de développement de ces îles nous a conduits au constat suivant : il ne peut exister de stratégie commune à ces territoires différents. / The non-optimal allocation of Official Development Assistance, the performance of some Small Island Developing Economies and the problem of definition of this group of countries lead us to ask the question : is the special treatment of SIDE from international institutions justified? First, we focused on the intrinsic characteristics of these small economies, which are a priori more exposed to external shocks. The first part of our analysis consists to assess the economic vulnerability of these territories. Some economies, recognized as vulnerable, are economically and socially efficient. To account for this paradox, we devoted to quantify the development performance to address our second topic: the resilience performance of these territories.Our analysis allows some interesting findings. First, the definition of concepts is a real problem. Second, the vulnerability of SIDE is nuanced by the construction change of the Economic Vulnerability Indicator that we propose. Third, the economic and social performance of some island economies is undeniable. Fourth, although the resilient nature of SIDE is confirmed by our analysis, this resilience is especially heterogeneous within this group of countries. Finally, the study of the development strategies of these islands allows the following conclusion: there can be no common strategy in these territories.

This dissertation examines the notion of nationhood and the intricacies of identity in Mauritius as depicted in the work of artists from this island. Through the writing of Ananda Devi, Shenaz Patel, Natacha Appanah, Amal Sewtohul, and Carl de Souza, as well as through the works of filmmakers Harikrisna Anenden and David Constantin, I analyze the distinctive ways in which these artists explore the burden of a traumatic past along with their ensuing representations of the present images of the Mauritian people. Their works best encapsulate the paradoxical place that Mauritius holds in the Francophone and Anglophone world, i.e. that it was first a French and then a British colony, which respectively introduced slavery and indentured servants to this island that had no autochthone population. As a result, the question of identity – both individual and national – remains intrinsically linked to the memory of slavery and of indentured servitude/Coolitude, in a country which history prior to colonization has little been explored. Thus far, critical work in Francophone literature has studied these two memories separately. My analysis creates a dialogue between them. This is crucial to the understanding of just how the intersection of slavery and Coolitude, have shaped today’s Mauritian national identity. Each chapter raises a key question on the subject: How does the writing of Devi, along with Anenden’s cinema, both of which are centered on marginalized communities, present a critical framework through which the socio-economic issues of the island can be studied? In what ways does Appanah’s fiction convoke historical events, while problematizing deeply engrained power dynamics? What does it mean for Patel and Constantin to give voice to the subaltern and to speak for/instead of a minority group? Finally, how do the works of these different writers, namely Patel, Appanah, Sewtohul and de Souza, address the complexities and tensions within the multicultural society of Mauritius? My conclusion reflects on the critical role and impact of artistic expression in the creation of a mosaic in which we can better understand the Mauritian nation when this country is at the milestone of 50 years of independence. / 2020-11-27T00:00:00Z

This thesis is the result of applying a novel methodology which I labelled ‘participative foresight scenario mapping’. This methodology couples participatory methods for building holistic foresight scenarios for sustainable development in Flores Island (Azores, Portugal) with a multi-criteria appraisal method, Multi-criteria mapping (Stirling, 1997), to assess these scenarios alongside five sector based regional scenarios (Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e do Mar, 2006). The main research question was to reflect on how small isolated societies, which have a distant relation with strategic decision-making centres, can define their transitions to sustainability. Small islands represent interesting cases to reflect on sustainability, these small territories distant from main decision-making centres challenge decision-making and require a consideration of the issues of scale. Islands have also been seen as small, manageable models of the world, providing the opportunity to explore innovative solutions at a scale that allows inclusion of as many different factors as possible. Small islands’ populations are especially linked to their island and they develop, by the effects of isolation, a strong particular relation to the place, the role of identity is then crucial in fostering sustainable practices adapted to the island. A succession of individual scoping interviews with twenty four regional and local decision-makers and key informants and seven focus groups with a total of thirty local lay citizens gave me the opportunity to develop two differentiated multi-sector scenarios for Flores Island which were identified as Standard and Balanced development scenarios. The Balanced development scenario reflects a desire to develop an island that bases its economy on greater self-sufficiency for agricultural products, quality and certified products, and natural conservation and valorisation. The Standard development scenario is based on economic growth through tourism and primary sector intensification, and public investment in infrastructures; this scenario can be summarized as the continuation of the actual model of development. The appraisal of both holistic narratives allows in depth exploration of the complex issues related to sustainability, such as the preference between weak and strong sustainability, that otherwise would have been too difficult to assess by such a variety of research participants. Working with holistic scenarios raised the limits of the capacity to show proficiency in a wide variety of fields. The research demonstrated the feasibility of applying the multi-criteria mapping method to support the analysis of holistic non-technical scenarios. The combination of qualitative and quantitative data brought depth to the analysis and improved the understanding of the desired sustainable futures in islands. But the quantitative appraisal was overshadowed by strong uncertainties that made difficult the identification of a best scenario. Uncertainty was explained by the risks inherent to the scenarios, the limited expertise in all the criteria, the complexity of the holistic scenarios, the time horizon (20 years), doubts on the effective implementation of the chosen scenario, and the existence of potentially disrupting external factors. The process was also the opportunity to understand the role that social capital might play in the transition to the desired future for this island. It is shown in the thesis that a successful transition to sustainable development can only be reached if the objectives are understood and shared by the population.

La compréhension de l'apparition d'espèces nouvelles est depuis longtemps un problème majeur en biologie évolutive. Dans le cadre de la spéciation, une attention particulière est portée sur l'étude de la structure des populations c'est-à-dire l'agencement spatio-temporel de la diversité biologique permettant de mesurer et d'identifier la nature de la divergence. Cette divergence est dépendante de quatre forces: la dérive génétique, le flux de gène, la mutation et la sélection et a largement été étudié au sein des milieux insulaires. En effet, ces milieux ont toujours occupé une place de choix dans l'étude de la diversification du vivant car i) ils fournissent un cadre idéal pour étudier les mécanismes impliqués dans la diversification et ii) ils renferment une faune et une flore originales composées de nombreuses espèces endémiques. Ces espèces endémiques montrent une fragilité singulière de part leur faible effectif et leur aire de distribution restreinte. La Grive à Pieds Jaunes, Turdus lherminieri, est un oiseau forestier et endémique de quatre îles des Petites Antilles : Montserrat, la Guadeloupe, la Dominique et Sainte-Lucie. Quatre-sous espèces ont été décrites sur chacune des îles sur des critères de coloration du plumage mais aucune étude n'a réellement quantifié la divergence entre ces sous-espèces. De plus, cet oiseau voit ses effectifs déclinés depuis une quinzaine d'années ce qui lui vaut d'être protégé sur trois îles alors qu'il est encore chassé en Guadeloupe. Les objectifs dégagés dans cette étude sont: i) d'étudier la structure spatiale des grives et d'en inférer les causes, ii) de retracer l'évolution temporelle récente de la diversité génétique ces populations, iii) de déterminer si les parasites peuvent exercer des pressions de sélection contrastées entre ces populations. Notre étude a permis d'identifier trois clades et quatre îles très différenciées sur le plan génétique et morphologique à confronter aux quatre sous-espèces définies auparavant sur des critères de coloration du plumage. A une échelle spatiale plus fine, la Guadeloupe seule, nous avons constaté des niveaux de différentiation peu commun chez des oiseaux. Enfin, le contexte parasitaire semble lui aussi structuré spatialement et présente des éléments de congruence avec les structurations morphologiques et génétiques. A la suite de cette étude, trois unités de gestion peuvent être définies afin de préserver les populations de Grives à pieds jaunes: une première incluant Sainte-Lucie, une seconde incluant la Dominique et une troisième incluant l'ensemble Guadeloupe et Montserrat / Understanding the mechanisms underlying population structure is a crucial issue in evolutionary biology and ecology. Identifying the processes driving biodiversity is also of prime interest to draw up guidelines for population management and conservation planning. Level of differentiation depends on a subtle balance between gene flow, genetic drift and natural selection and insight into the relative contribution of these factors can be provided by spatial and temporal patterns of intra-specific phenotypic and genetic variations. Differentiation has mainly been studied in insular systems because i) islands give ideal framework to study divergence in species ii) islands enclosed endemic fauna and flora. These endemic species are characterised by small population sizes and small distribution areas. They are consequently more fragilized by strong environmental changes. The Forest thrush Turdus lherminieri is an endemic and understorey bird present in four islands of Lesser Antilles: Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Saint-Lucia. Four subspecies have been described on each island on the basis of feathers coloration but no study has really quantified the divergence between these subspecies. In addition, bird numbers have decline since 15 years and now Forest thrushes are protected on three islands but are always hunted in Guadeloupe. Aims proposed in this study are i) to study the spatial structure in Forest thrush in order to deduce potential causes of this structure ii) to describe the temporal evolution of genetic diversity, iii) to determine if parasites can exert contrasted selection pressures which follow gentic and morphological pattern in Forest thrushes populations. In this study, we have identified three clades and subspecies on each island which are differentiated morphologically and genetically. At fine scale i.e Guadeloupe only, we have revealed an uncommon level of differentiation. In last, the parasites’ structure seems to follow the morphological and genetic structure observed in Forest thrushes. To conclude, three management units can be defined: a first in Saint- Lucia, a second in Dominica and a third including Montserrat and Guadeloupe

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é demonstrar a especificidade do universo insular. Para tal, os conceitos de insularidade, maritimidade, litoralismo, ilheidade e condição arquipelágica foram elencados de modo a abarcar fatores comuns no âmbito da miríade de possibilidades que as ilhas são capazes de ensejar. O intento central foi, assim, explorar esses conceitos por intermédio de representações gráficas capazes de transcender a simples analogia com a realidade, típica dos mapas. Trata-se, pois, do método da Coremática, desenvolvido pelo geógrafo francês Roger Brunet na busca de uma argumentação feita não somente pelas palavras, mas pelas imagens. A princípio, com as possibilidades de representação geométrica existentes, é possível compor uma série de figuras estruturantes ou basilares que, combinada ou individualmente, são capazes de expressar as dinâmicas fundamentais de determinado espaço geográfico. Com efeito, lançou-se mão do método coremático para demonstrar a especificidade da forma insular, tendo, como estudo de caso, Montão de Trigo, uma ilha localizada no litoral norte do estado de São Paulo. Empregou-se, assim, uma modelização gráfica da ilha, a partir da qual se foi capaz de identificar determinados traços distintivos, tais quais a relação terra-mar; as ligações internas e externas; as centralidades intrainsulares; as formas de compartimentar o território; o direito de propriedade e o direito de uso do espaço insular; os graus de antropização; e, finalmente, o papel da influência marítima no assentamento humano. / This work shows the specific feature of the islands. To do so, we used the concepts of insularity, maritime dimension, coastal condition, sense of belonging to an island and archipelagic nature, that can describe different situations related to the islands. The main idea was to present these concepts by using some graphical depictions, which can go beyond the simple analogy with geographical reality that the maps usually present; by using, therefore, a method that could argue with images instead of words: the Chorématique, developed by the French geographer Roger Brunet. Firstly, with the current representation possibilities in terms of geometry, Brunet proposed some basic or structural images that can be used (separately or jointly) in different situations to show the most important aspects of a region. By applying this method to demonstrate the island distinctiveness, we created some basic images as well as Brunet done. Then, we presented a graphic model that shows the essential geography of Montão de Trigo, a small island in the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Among all the features of the island, there are different types of phenomena: relationships between ocean and land; domestic and foreign linkages; center places; natural and human regions; ownership and rights of use the land; degrees of human intervention; and, finally, the maritime influences in the process of human settlement.

L'intérêt de cette thèse est de surmonter le conflit entre la protection de l'environnement et le besoin du développement. En effet, le droit de l'environnement, en ayant comme objectif l'amélioration de l'état de l'environnement, peut être contraire au besoin du développement économique. Une première hypothèse est que le droit à l'environnement est l'outil juridique, qui, à travers son double caractère, à la fois comme droit et à la fois comme devoir, peut constituer la base afin de compenser l'équilibre entre l'état émergent de l'environnement et les besoins sociaux et économiques. Une deuxième hypothèse est que cette contradiction peut être surmontée en utilisant le concept du développement durable, qui promeut l'équilibre dans la satisfaction des trois besoins essentiels de notre société, à savoir les conditions économiques, environnementales, et sociales et culturelles. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'examiner les possibilités d'appliquer le concept du développement durable aux cinq plus grandes îles de la Méditerranée (Sicile, Sardaigne, Chypre, Corse, Crète), en proposant un cadre juridique commun pour la protection de l'environnement. / Slands are territories where the tensions between the protection of the environment and economicdevelopment appear in an exaggerated manner. From one hand, island's ecology needs strict natureconservation measures, because of its vulnerability. On the other hand, the limited available spacein islands, combined with an augmented demand to develop, nourishes the territorial conflicts. Lawis called to manage such conflicts, thus arises the interest of reflecting on the theoretical basis of anIslands Law.This work adopts a territorial approach that studies the Mediterranean island space by usingmanifold tools of social sciences.

Le travail suivant tend à retracer la photographie du roman insulaire contemporain. En analysant le thème du retour dans certaines oeuvres sardes, siciliennes, corses et majorquines, nous voudrions souligner en particulier les points de ruptures avec le siècle passé voire remettre en question le concept d'île. / The following work aims at offering an overview of the contemporary insular novel. In particular, by analyzing the theme of the re-emergence in some works of Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica and Majorca, it intends to point out some divergencies from the tradition of the last century, which lead to questioning the concept is “island” itself. / Il seguente lavoro vuole tracciare una fotografia del romanzo insulare contemporaneo. In particolare, analizzando il tema del ritorno in alcune opere di Sardegna, Sicilia, Corsica e Maiorca, vorrebbe evidenziare i punti di rottura col secolo passato, sino a mettere in discus-sione il concetto stesso di ‘isola’.

La communication est essentielle à de nombreuses fonctions vitales en permettant le transfert d’information entre les individus via des signaux. Alors que les fonctions de ces signaux ainsi que les contraintes à leur propagation ont été intensivement étudiées, leur évolution a majoritairement été envisagée à travers le prisme de la dyade constituée par l’émetteur du signal et le récepteur du signal. Pourtant les signaux sont toujours émis au sein de communautés sensorielles et de nombreuses interactions interspécifiques conditionnent les pressions de sélections qui les affectent. Dans cette thèse je me suis intéressé aux liens entre différentes composantes de la composition des communautés et l'évolution du chant et de la couleur chez les oiseaux. Tirant partie des conditions particulières retrouvées dans les îles océaniques, j'ai étudié comment les changements de richesse spécifique, densité de conspécifique et présence de prédateur étaient susceptibles de modifier les comportements de communication et les caractéristiques des signaux émis. Cette approche écologique de l'évolution des signaux est nécessaire pour comprendre leur évolution au sein de communautés sensorielles. Elle m’a permis de mettre en évidence le rôle potentiellement majeur des interférences acoustiques sur la niche sensorielle des espèces ainsi que celui de la prédation sur les changements de coloration en milieu insulaire. Dans le dernier chapitre de cette thèse, je me suis intéressé à un phénomène complémentaire en étudiant les liens entre l’extravagance des signaux et la dynamique des populations au sein des communautés aviaires. Cette thèse produit des éléments forts pour affirmer que la composition des communautés détermine une part des pressions évolutives conditionnant la communication mais qu’à l'inverse, les liens entre caractéristiques des signaux et la composition des communautés sont complexes et difficile à déterminer. / Communication efficiency is related with many essential functions determining the fitness of individuals. Mating signals leads to reproductive isolation, and hence to speciation and a huge amount of studies focused on their evolution. However signals are shaped by environmental properties including the composition of signalling community but this have been understudied. Here, I examined the link between different components of communities’ composition and the evolution of two mating signals: song and coloration in birds. Taking advantage of the particular conditions found in oceanic islands, I studied how species richness, conspecific density, and predator presence were likely to alter communication behaviors and the peculiarities of the transmitted signal. In doing so, I adopted an ecological approach of communication study which I believed to be necessary to understand the evolution of signal within sensory spaces. In the last chapter of this thesis, I focused on a complementary phenomenon by studying how such signals can be deleterious for species decreasing the life expectancy of populations. Overall, this thesis produces additional evidence that the composition of communities partly determines evolutionary pressures conditioning the communication and that conversely, signal characteristic can affect the composition of the communities by determining the viability of certain populations.