Isabelle Thyfault
Pronouns: they/them
Research Mentor(s): Brian Klein
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Afroamerican and African Studies / LSA
Program: UROP
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors: Isabelle Thyfault, Lily Benner, Dr. Brian Klein
Abstract
This project seeks to understand the politics behind, impacts of, and changes related to the construction of the Route Nationale 5A (RN5A), a major and formerly unpaved highway connecting the cities of Ambilobe and Vohemar in northern Madagascar. The Chinese government funded this project through loans from the Export-Import Bank of China as part of their Belt and Road Initiative. To better understand and interpret the history and significance of the RN5A, we draw on multiple forms of evidence, including archival documents, news articles, social media, reports, databases, and relevant academic literature in political ecology, geography, anthropology, and development studies. Our aim is to produce an account of the RN5A and earlier road-building projects that is situated in both historical and contemporary context; that is attentive to the varied agents and contested politics involved in its condition and construction; and that interrogates the road’s effects on lives, livelihoods, local economies, landscapes, relations of power, and politics. As such, we have worked to reconstruct the colonial history of infrastructure in the region, and to stitch together a coherent narrative of the recently-completed renovation and paving of the RN5A. While affected communities and individuals are generally enthusiastic about the benefits these upgrades have brought and stand to deliver moving forward–and President Andry Rajoelina seems to be benefiting politically, as well–situating the contemporary project in the longer story of infrastructure in the region raises important questions about intentions and possible consequences. In particular, we find that infrastructural improvements have typically been motivated and followed by resource extraction by foreign actors. This is a critical consideration to keep in view given the region’s forest and mineral abundance, which sustains rural livelihoods–and is coveted by external elites.
