Today’s blog is based on an interview with Mandiou Traore, a master’s degree student at Sciences Po Lyon. Traore comes from Mali, where he has completed his undergraduate studies and research on Mali’s changing political systems in the rural context of property law. I wanted an in-depth interview to hear his perspective on the differences between France and his own country of Mali. The conversation followed many different topics, but for this post I will write briefly about his perception of French and African senses of solidarity, the latter of which includes phenomena dreaded in France like clientelism.
Originally I had thought that solidarity was not an incredibly broad term, but after my encounters I have come to the conclusion that it has many different cultural and regional contexts. For instance, France has a strong sense of fraternity (or solidarity) that is even a part of their motto “Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité.” Thanks to the comment from Mina on my last blog post, we further narrowed this idea down to a sense of civic nationalism, or in this case civic solidarity, that in my mind allows a population to have a sense of nationality while preserving a certain individualism. Troare described it further as having a financial aspect (universal health care and high tax rates), and that one of the greatest differences between France and Mali was that the African sense of solidarity covers so much more.
One of the greatest differences he found between the French and African senses of solidarity is related to clientelism. The French perception of this phenomenon is distinctly negative, whereas Troare assured me that it is not viewed that way in Africa. The Western concept of the word does not take into account that being in a position of power is always accompanied by the obligation to help friends and neighbors. As I learned in my anthropology class, the more power one has, the more responsibility he/she has to redistribute the wealth. Therefore, instances of clientelism are not viewed as under-the-table encounters but rather a fulfilled responsibility to the community. It is a system of norms that is well-established and honorable (in most cases).*
Forms of social responsibility (and solidarity) touch all aspects of life, from greeting strangers in the street to attending all of the village gatherings. Traore explained that it is not just politeness; it is a social obligation that is binding and has negative consequences if ignored. Being in France is strange because here someone cannot just walk up to a stranger and strike up a conversation (it would be viewed as socially impolite in most cases), whereas in Africa this is normal, and furthermore they will invite you to dinner or tea. It is also normal, he told me, to live at one's parents' house at forty years old with children and a wife because the "base unit of society is the family" (translation).
This family and community is a support system that reaches across the oceans to help him in times of need, but also obligates him to help when he has the resources and time. Someone who cuts these familial bonds is very badly viewed, and judging by Troare’s negative reaction to my question I guess that it is just something that is never done. It means being cut off from the lifeline of African society; it means being alone in the most desperate times.
In France, this is one of the places where the state steps in to support the individual, but in Africa the feeble infrastructure does not leave money for the state to support individuals. Therefore, one has to “share his life with others” (translation), and although there might be financial poverty in families or communities, they are always rich in solidarity and a sense of community. This African term of solidarity encompasses all aspects of life from greetings to political power structures, dwarfing the small French sense of civic responsibility. If you come from a warm, hospitable environment like that, even French solidarity can seem to turn the cold shoulder.
*If you want to read more on the moral norms of corruption check out Olivier de Sardan’s article “L’économie morale de la corruption en Afrique."