island conversations
podcast series

Okay, well, that's really interesting, Benoît. Could we move closer to your home, to France? How would you define the field of island studies in France? And is this distinct from island studies in other parts of the world? What is its history and key features? Could you just talk about that area for a short time? 

I think at the beginning of academic geography, at the end of 19th century, early 20th century, islands were a very important topic in French geography and abroad, and especially there were debates between what we call physical determinism, the media, how did it impact the society, and the question of culture, society. Many key thinkers like Jean Brunhes, Camille Vallaux, who has been forgotten these days. But he [Vallaux] wrote a book, Géographie Sociale: La Mer, the sea and islands. Also, Jean Brunhes, I think, was a very interesting geographer. And there was a debate with German geography and [Friedrich] Ratzel, who was very, what we call deterministic geography. And so the French geography was more, I will say, flexible. 

A very important book, and I think it's still interesting to read these days, is a book written by a historian. It’s the first epistemology, as such, of islands; it’s the book of Lucien Febvre, in 1922 ... This book was reviewing all the ideas of islands and he was saying, ‘Okay, be careful with spatial determinism, you have to empirically study the island to see if there is an effect, and if there is an effect, it's an effect through the society’. And so, it was quite interesting. After, I think it was no longer a very important topic in French geography. It started again, I would say, in the 70s and 80s, and especially in Brittany, with many small islands. Also, later, with a different perspective, there is a work of Abraham Moles, about, he coined the word nissonologie, in 1982, I think, about the idea of islands. And it's more in the mind, a mental image of islands and the perception of space. Also, I think geographers get more interested in the way of ‘how do the people experience the island? What is the imaginary notion of islands?’ and, of course, the geopolitical issue, became important because in the 70s, in France, and thanks to Yves Lacoste, the geopolitical approach raised a huge interest. And I think also what is interesting in France is that because there are many overseas territories, and most of them are islands, it's a huge issue. And, so, geopolitical issues about the seas and colonization, and so on, development, culture, it’s very important because of this political situation. You have French islands, like St. Pierre and Miquelon next to Canada; the West Indies, like Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Saint Barth; Indian Ocean with Réunion, the Scattered Islands, Mayotte; the French Southern territories like Kerguelen, Crozet, and Amsterdam and Saint Paul; and all the Pacific territories, New Caledonia, which maybe will [gain] . . . independence, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, Clipperton. It seems that's almost all. I think, also, the French, it's difficult to talk about the French tradition as such, maybe because there are different approaches. There’s always work in the Mediterranean part, with, of course, there is Corsica, and it connects with Latin countries like Italy, Spain and even Greece. There is also the North Atlantic and Channel side, with the islands in Brittany, but also the Channel Islands where they share the coast. I will say they are different, kind of workshop areas. And the workshop areas, have different connections with other countries. And I think that there are many connections between Italy and France, for example, in this topic. 

Do you think it is a very hot topic at the moment with islands studies in France? Are there any geopolitical issues or concerns whether it's in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea or the English Channel? Any of the French islands?

Yes, I think so, because in fact there is a different topic because islands, they reflect change in the world, but in a model, on a small scale, but you have many global changes at stake. There are geopolitical issues. It's clearly one of the main issues, especially it is not only the island itself, but the surrounding waters, and there are a lot of issues with extensions. And you know, of the boundaries, thanks to the continental shelf, there are some sovereignty issues; the Scattered Islands, they're claimed by Madagascar, Mauritius for Tromelin Island, Comoros Islands, and there is the issue of the Indo–Pacific, also with China, US and the French dependencies. So it has been a very topical issue concerning Pacific, even the geo-strategic dimension, you know, with China, Australia and US and the others. So, there is an issue of decolonization with New Caledonia, which is a long and very difficult process. And there are also other issues, of course, environmental issues, that are quite interesting because, of course, there is global warming, the climate change, but there is also, what is quite interesting, is how do we connect with geopolitical issues? For example, France is extending conservation areas around the Scattered Islands, but it's also a way to legitimise the French sovereignty through the environmental issues. So it's quite interesting to see what is at stake, you know, if we can engage the older spectrum, environmental, geopolitical, but also social-political issues. It's given a different picture and I think that's why it's a very hot topic.

There are other topics also concerning local development, it's the issue of tourism, the issue of renewable energies like windmills and things like this on small islands. These issues also have inequalities. For example, I think it's very important for small island societies, you have the ones that are able to move from islands and to come back, and some are more like, they cannot travel because it's too expensive. So for the future of islands, in a globalised world, it's a very important issue. You have some migration issues in the Mediterranean Sea, like, for the Italian Islands, Malta and Greece, it's a border as such, so, I think it reflects many global issues within a very small space. It’s like a boat in a bottle, like this, but you can maybe study it still. I think it's very stimulating for the self, you know, and you can maybe, it's easier for the researcher to combine different aspects that otherwise would be more difficult to think together. And I think that is, so I still believe and it's maybe a belief, in the island as a laboratory, but not in the same meaning sense, as you know, the beginning of the century. It's more about social science now.