promises and effects of land observatories : a political geography of sociotechnical devices for development in African and Senegalese contexts (1980/2022)

Abstract

This thesis aims to propose a critical reading of land observatories in Africa in general and in Senegal in particular. Situated at the intersection of a political geography of sociotechnical devices that ensure the construction, sharing and circulation of information in the field of land, a sociology of public action in African contexts and a reflection on development, the thesis aims to understand why, while the concept ofland observatory has been repeatedly promoted for almost thirty years, with numerous abortive attempts and few concrete achievements in the field, land observatories are both so desired and so little functional. The thesis is organised around three axes of analysis : the circulation of the concept within the African continent ; the processes of creation and implementation of land observatories ; and the effects on public action. The thesis shows that the concept ofland observatory has evolved into one of those buzzwords that many actors use in the field of development but which mean many different things to different types of actors. It also highlights the many implementation gaps between what was planned in the project documents and what is happening on the ground. Finally, considering the many observatories without data, the research shows that the symbolic dimension ofland observatories takes precedence over their actual production and their effect on public action.