Territories: the illusion of identity
Jean-François Bayart
The conference-debate was held on December 16th, 2019 at 6 pm, in the 1st floor meeting room at MSF (14-34 avenue Jean Jaurès 75019 Paris). It was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
Can we talk about the specificities of the Middle East, Iran or the Mediterranean without reducing these territories to a culture or religion? On December 16, 2019, the CRASH team organised a conference-debate with Jean-François Bayart, a French political scientist who has devoted his work to the sociology of the State and identity illusions.
According to this researcher, the globalizing explanations that are often in vogue (for example, the necessary transition to a free market economy or democracy) do not allow us to understand international relations in their complexity.
In contrast to these standardised explanations, it is possible to take an interest in the cultural and historical specificities of different societies. The difficulty then consists in treating these "cultural areas" without falling into another form of simplification: a culturalist approach often rooted in a western-centred vision of history and religions.
Jean-François Bayart explains why territories are not objective data. He shows us the interest, in order to understand the geopolitical issues, in studying the sequence of social and historical events that give certain territories their uniqueness.
Bibliographical references related to the subject:
• Jean-François Bayart, The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly, Paris, Fayard, 1989
• Jean-François Bayart, The Illusion of Cultural Identity, Paris, Fayard, 1996
• Jean-François Bayart, L’Islam républicain. Ankara, Téhéran, Dakar, Paris, Albin Michel 2010
• Jean-François Bayart, « ‘Dessine-moi un Mena !’, ou l’impossible définition des ‘aires culturelles’ », Sociétés politiques comparées, 38, janvier-avril 2016http://fasopo.org/sites/default/files/varia1_n38.pdf
To cite this content :
Jean-François Bayart, “Territories: the illusion of identity”, 16 décembre 2019, URL : https://msf-crash.org/en/conferences-debates/territories-illusion-identity
If you want to criticize or develop this content, you can find us on twitter or directly on our site.
Contribute
Conference
Motivations for mass violence: different interpretations
10/03/2019 - 06:00 PM 08:00 PMConference – debate, Thursday, 3 October 2019, 6-8pm, 1st floor meeting room at MSF, 8 rue Saint Sabin. Streaming and simultaneous translation into English available.
What turns ordinary men into killers? The CRASH team invited you to a conference – debate with the sociologist and historian, Nicolas Mariot, author of an article entitled « Faut-il être motivé pour tuer? Sur quelques explications aux violences de guerre » (Genèses, n°53, 2003, p. 154-177) and books such as “Face à la persécution. 991 Juifs dans la guerre" (with Claire Zalc, Paris, Odile Jacob, 2010), “Tous unis dans la tranchée ? 1914-1918, les intellectuels rencontrent le peuple" (Paris, Seuil, 2013). Nicolas Mariot presented two different interpretations of motivations for mass violence in the 20th century, drawn from a series of studies and surveys on the subject.
Susanne Doettling
Opinion
Civilisés et barbares
04/01/2005Alors que le champ de l'action des ONG n'a cessé de s'élargir, Rony Brauman s'interroge sur l'influence du concept de « mission civilisatrice » qui a marqué nos consciences ainsi que sur le poids des « valeurs » au sein de leurs politiques.
Isabelle Merny
Interview
L’action humanitaire doit s’affranchir de la logique du "choc des civilisations"
06/30/2010Dans cet entretien, Rony Brauman revient sur l'histoire récente des relations entre droits de l'homme et aide humanitaire à la lumière notamment des conflits du Moyen-Orient.
Past events
Conference
The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor
05/09/2023 - 08:30 PM 10:30 PMWe were pleased to welcome anthropologist Julien Bonhomme, author of the book The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor for a conference and debate on Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 at 18:30 (Paris time) at MSF (34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris).
Conference
Négocier avec le diable. La médiation dans les conflits armés
12/15/2022 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMWe were pleased to welcome Pierre Hazan, author of the book Négocier avec le diable. La médiation dans les conflits armés for a conference and debate on Thursday December 15th, 2022, 18:30, at MSF (34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris). The conference was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
Conference
MSF and Humanitarian Negotiations for Access in the DRC
06/28/2022 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMConference and debate, June 28th, 2022, from 18:30 to 20:30 (Paris time), MSF (salle du premier, 14-34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris). The conference was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
Conference
All Who Fall
05/17/2022 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMConference and debate, May 17th, 2022, from 18:30 to 20:30 (Paris time), MSF (14-34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris). The conference was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
Conference
How to improve access to care and aid for people living with a handicap in a humanitarian context?
04/07/2022 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMA screening of the film "Agir contre l’exclusion" followed by a debate, April 7th, 2022, from 18:30 to 20:30, MSF and online. The debate was translated simultaneously into sign language and English.
Conference
Reconstructing Lives
02/17/2022 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMThe members of the Crash team were happy to welcome you all to an online conference-debate with anthropologist Vanja Kovačič, on Thursday 17th of February, at 6:30PM. The conference was in English and simultaneously translated into French. The author introduced her recently-published book "Reconstructing lives Victims of war in the Middle East and Médecins Sans Frontières" (Manchester University Press, translated in French and Arabic.)