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H OW FRAGILE , AND HOW RESILIENT , HAVE S AHARAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS PROVED OVER THE LONG TERM

1.I N T R O D U C T IO N
There are several systems, economic or social, characteristic to the Sahara. The camel trade, commercial relations organised through Islam, systems of unfree labour are examples of institutions related to the economy, in the sense of trade, labour and profit-making. As for social systems matrilinearity, gerontocracy and concubinage have been constants in the Sahara for at least a considerable period of time. This essay however focuses on the persistence of a socio- economic system perhaps most characteristic to the Sahara: pastoralism. In order to assess the resilience and fragility of Saharan systems two aspects of the pastoralist way of life, tribal relations and herding, will be considered. First, the terms relevant to the analysis will be defined below. Next, a selection of theoretical concepts will be discussed in some more detail after which two case studies, one focusing on tribal relations and the other on herding, will be presented. These cases outline the dynamics of two selected Saharan social and economic systems, from prior to colonization to present. Given the scope of this essay, the insights provided will be limited. Nevertheless, by applying the theoretical concepts outlined in section 3, it is possible to make some concluding remarks regarding the resilience and fragility of Saharan systems.

2.D E F IN IT IO N O F T E R M S
Pastoralism is an economic and social system well adapted to dryland conditions and characterized by a complex set of practices and knowledge that has permitted the maintenance of a sustainable equilibrium among pastures, livestock and people (IFAD, 2009). It is an integrated socio-economic system because the economic activity of herding involves moving across the land from pasture to pasture. Hence, a mobile lifestyle is required for it to work. Resilience is defined as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance while undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure and identity (Walker et al., 2004: unpaginated). Fragility on the other hand may refer to the ease with which parts of an ecosystem, if not the whole, can be damaged (Milich, 1997: unpaginated)1. Walker et al., (2004) use three attributes of social ecological systems; resilience, adaptability and transformability to understand the maximal pressures a system can accommodate and to see what factors contribute to a so-called state of maximum sustainable yield, i.e. their durability. The concepts especially relevant to the analysis here are set out in the following section. 1 An alternative definition for fragility could be one focusing on the notion of precariousness as offered by Walker et al., 2004: 7).

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3.R E S IL IE N C E A N D F R A G IL IT Y : A C O N C E P T U A L F R A M E W O R K
This essay question invites to apply systems thinking and hence consider the inter-connectivity of several aspects of systems and of human as well as technological and ecological factors. Walker et al., have further sophisticated the social ecological system (SES) model briefly introduced above. Resilience, as the capacity to absorb disturbance and reorganize, is seen as having four additional aspects: latitude, resistance, precariousness (or fragility) and panarchy (Walker et al., 2004). Aspects of Resilience Latitude Resistance Precariousness Panarchy Source: Walker et al., 2004. The remaining concepts of importance are adaptability and transformability, referring to the capacity of actors to influence resilience and to the capacity to create a new system when ecological, economic, social or political conditions make the existing system untenable respectively (Walker et al., 2004: unpaginated). The scope of this essay is limited, hence these concepts are only briefly introduced here and then re-applied in the conclusion. It is important to bear in mind however that the conceptual framework offered by Walker et al., includes both internal and external factors on various scales. In other words, it underlines the interconnectedness of SESs. Maximum amount a system can be changed before loosing its ability to recover The ease or difficulty of changing the system How close the current systems state is to a threshold Refers to cross-scale interactions that can influence resilience at the scales above and below it.

4.T H E E N D U R A N C E O F S O C IA L S Y S T E M S : T R IB A L IS M
This section analyses the interaction of tribal systems with the Western model of the state in Mauritania. Here, as in other parts of the Sahara, colonial powers were eager to supplant tribal systems with alternative forms of social organization. Given the limits of this essay, the following section will heavily rely on the work of Villasante to explain the situation in Mauritania. Having outlined the case study, some conclusions will be drawn as to the resilience of tribal affiliations in present-day Mauritania. Before proceeding, the nature of the concept of the tribe must be commented upon. Conventionally, tribes are seen as kinship groups in which relationships are determined

by genealogy. Numerous authors however have pointed out the flexibility of the tribal concept they speak of tribal idiom and underline its malleability (Barfield, 1993). Marx (2006) illustrates the flexibility and non-total character of the tribe which is merely one of a variety of

This is the intellectual property right of Justa Hopma and nothing may be reproduced from this essay without citing the author. organizations in which the nomad participates (Marx, 2006: 90). Furthermore, tribal association is not exclusively based on descent. Ibn Khaldun wrote about the tribe as an identity group based upon social pride and mutual defence (Ibn Khaldun quoted in Bonte, 2006: 108). From this perspective, examples of former slaves and other non-blood relatives being absorbed into families can be explained. It is thus important to note that the tribe is a much more flexible form of organization than many Western scholars, including Gellner for example, have previously thought.

4.1 T H E C A S E O F M A U R I T A N I A
Prior to colonization, the nomadic population of Mauritania was organized into kinship groups or corporate groups. The social order depended on status hierarchies between tribes and between free and servile groups (Villasante, 2006). From 1902 onwards, the French aimed to establish a system of intermediary rulers that would exercise power locally, yet were answerable to the colonial powers above. In Mauritania, this meant that mirats maures were established. These were four administrative units that ignored previous power relations and contributed to the erosion of the system of traditional authority because it was not possible anymore to chose ones own rulers (Villasante, 2006). Colonial rule then, can be seen as a major disturbance of the vitality of tribal rule as a social system in Mauritania. After independence in 1960, the pro-French president Ould Dadda aimed to co-opt and

absorb the different tribal interests into that of the nation state (Pazzanita, 1999). The settlement of nomads and the disappearance of tribes and traditional powers were key development goals (Villasante, 2006). Ould Dadda proposed to do this through a process of replacement. Sitting customary chiefs were recognized, but once they died young cadres educated in France would replace them (Villasante, 2006). When Ould Dadda was ousted in 1978, the succeeding military regime, led by Ould Taya, emphasized a return to traditions and authenticity (Villasante, 2006).

4.2 I N T E R P R E T A T I O N O F C A S E
Why this discursive reversal? In 1987 still Ould Taya himself had declared that tribes were the most hurtful social evil that could be compared to a real cancer eating away at our social tissue and squandered the efforts of a large part of the population that had still not left behind old- fashioned attitudes (Ould Dada, Le Chaab quoted in Villasante, 2006: 163). In 19.. a re- personalization of the Mauritanian man through the return to old values was called for (Villasante, 2006). whom, the majority of Mauritanians (impoverished, badly cared-for, and poorly educated) accept the status quo of renewed tribal and/or ethnic allegiances as a means of obtaining material and symbolic goods from a state that poses as savior and protector (Villasante, 2006: 167). Villasante argues that this development is a blatant act of manipulation at the expense of

the petit peuple. In the absence of political freedom and options for who should represent

This is the intellectual property right of Justa Hopma and nothing may be reproduced from this essay without citing the author. The specific characteristics of the process of re-tribalization are beyond the scope of this essay. The predominance given to tribal relations by the government however, is indicative of its continued importance. As to why this is so, there are two aspects that deserve further attention: one is geographical, the other sociological. The majority of Mauritanians live in the interior where the tendency to adhere to

particularistic forms of association remained strong (Villasante, 2006). One explanation for this is that people never experienced forms of national identity and, partly as a result of their remote location remain primarily attached to tribal and familial relationships (Pazzanita, 1999). The tribe continues to be the only support mechanism ; a lack of national civic identity appears to be a fixture of Mauritanias social and political scene that will not be readily modified until well into the twenty-first century (Pazzanita, 1999: 57). There is another aspect to the geographical argument and its explanation for continued importance of tribal relations. During the long and severe Sahelian drought of the 1970s, the political role of chieftains was weakened most in the areas most affected by the drought. By contrast, in areas where pastoral activities continued to be possible, tribal groups were also best organized politically (Villasante, 2006). There thus seems to be a link between being able to continue a nomadic-pastoral life and ones political autonomy, represented by the strength of tribal organization. The geographical argument for the strength of tribal association, thus firstly focuses on

remoteness and not having experienced other forms of political association. Secondly, aside from merely existing at a distance from the emerging nation-state, a historic-ecological argument accounting for favourable conditions that fostered tribal autonomy, exists. Sociologically, Bonte (2006) underlines the sheer importance tribal relations continue

to play in Mauritanian politics. Matrimonial alliances continue to define relationships of parity and opposition: there is strong traditional continuity between political alliances and matrimonial ones (Bonte, 2006: 115). This means that marriage relationships continue to play an important role in building and sustaining contemporary hierarchies, just as they have down in the past. Furthermore, newly found newspapers continue to reinterpret political relationships in terms of tribal and regional affiliations (Bonte, 2006). Prior to drawing a conclusion regarding the resilience of tribal social systems, a case study regarding the persistence of the economic aspects of nomadic pastoralism will be considered.

5.T H E E N D U R A N C E O F A N E C O N O M IC S Y S T E M : N O M A D IC P A S T O R A L IS M
Whilst it is important to bear in mind that nomadic-pastoralism is an integrated socio-economic system (see introduction) this section predominantly focuses on the economic aspects of the ways in which Saharan peoples livelihoods are sustained. Pastoral economic organization revolves around the exploitation of natural grassland

(Barfield, 1993). The following case study examines the decrease of pastoral production in the

This is the intellectual property right of Justa Hopma and nothing may be reproduced from this essay without citing the author. Dra Valley and the various ways it was coped with. Pastoral rangelands were reduced as a result of control of movement by the state, war and drought (Casciarri, 2006). Although some causal links can be established(see below), it is important to bear the multifariousness of transformations in the Dra Valley in mind. Below, three strategies developed in response to reduced rangelands are explained. These strategies have been identified elsewhere in the literature, but Casciarri (2006) suggests that in addition to these general strategies, there are two factors that caused the Ait Unzar to be particularly successful at implementing these strategies.

5.1 T H E C A S E O F R E D U C E D R A N G E L A N D S I N S O U T H E R N M O R O C C O

F IGURE 1 T HE D RA V ALLEY . S OURCE : C ASCIARRI (2006)

Despite a number of far-reaching social and socio-ecological disturbances the Ait Unzar, a nomadic-pastoralist group living in the South East of Morocco, have persisted as nomadic pastoralists. Casciarri (2006) outlines three strategies adopted by local pastoralists in response to reduced mobility, war and drought. These events will be outlined below first. Second, the pastoralists responses are discussed. The herding ranges of the Ait Unzar were in the first instance profoundly affected when

French colonizers tied the use of water wells to tribal affiliation. That is, only certain tribes could use water at certain oases and wells (Casciarri, 2006). This notion of territoriality was wholly alien to the tribal social system and antithetical to the activity of herding. In the Sahara, water sources are scarce and mobility is necessary to access pastures across large areas. Access to large areas of land and communal rights to land and water use is at the basis of nomadic pastoralism as a socio-economic system (Salzman, 2004). As a result of fixing space and water use, pastoral mobility reduced and the lack of access to vegetal resources affected the size and quality of herds and ultimately reducing income from herding. The second development was the onset of war2 causing further control of movement
2 In 1975 King Hassan of Morocco initiated a military expedition for the liberation of the Saharan

territories that were still under Spanish authority. In this expedition, the Dra Valley became an

This is the intellectual property right of Justa Hopma and nothing may be reproduced from this essay without citing the author. and further reduction of access to herding areas. An additional effect however was the increased sedentarisation of nomads as a result of being drawn into the army, whose recruitment process was related to the conflict in southern Morocco. The third development concerned being drawn into the wider national economy.

Nomadic pastoralist economic transactions were often non-monetary. Being drawn into the wider national economy however, as opposed to the subsistence economy, meant that external factors such as meat prices and the price of fodder started to play a role. The impact of these hitherto external factors, caused some herders to change their herding strategies and these were not always as locally sustainable as previously (Casciarri, 2006). The response strategies are briefly summarized below. In response, some pastoralists joined up. They would establish contracts between them

and pay for their herds to be taken care of by other pastoralists. Presumably, some benefits of economies of scale will have been achieved through this strategy. More obviously, it allowed some herders to continue in their profession despite setbacks. Additionally, and specifically in response to drought, pastoralist moved across a wider spatial range and changes mobility cycles. Thus, more areas were visited more frequently (Casciarri, 2006). Lastly, the income strategies pursued by households differentiated at the domestic unit. That meant that different members of the families were engaged in different economic activities. In this context, the settlement of one nomad in a town where he or she looks after the interests of the tribe, may allow another pastoral nomad to continue living out in the rangelands (Rowe, 2006). As a last point, Casciarri (2006) suggests that the fact that the Ait Unzar already

maintained relations with Arab groups and that this wider relational space, partly expressed in shared language, facilitated contact with settled Arab communities. She offers two alternative hypotheses accounting for the resilience of the Ait Unzar as nomadic pastoralists. The first is the strong complementarity with a particular oasis population; the second points at the strong tribal coherence of the Ait Unzar, partly maintained through marriage relations (Casciarri, 2006). Although Casciarri does not choose to defend one particular scenario, all hypotheses offered seem to underline the importance of the social relations in which the Ait Unzar were embedded. Regardless of how the intra-tribal relations and connections with sedentary populations, belonging to the same or other tribes are explained, the point seems to attest to the extreme importance of considering pastoralist economic strategies in its wider social context.

important strategic location and the space available for pastoral movement was reduced by 50% as a result of being in a war like area.

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6.C ONCLUSION
Based upon the case studies outlined above, the following comments about the resilience and fragility of herding and tribalism as a Saharan economic system can be made: With reference to herding specifically, it seems that the concepts of latitude, precariousness and panarchy are particularly salient. The restrictions posed by the French on the freedom of movement caused pastoralists forced changes along the latitudinal axis (see table above). Instead of free herding for all, herding was now only possible for some in specific areas. This caused herders to join forces so that some continued to herd, but others left the profession. For the economic system as a whole, this meant fewer families practiced herding. At the individual level then, some were pushed along the latitudinal that far, that they lost the ability to recover: restricted access to water wells prevented them from doing so. For the community as a whole however, changes in economic organization allowed them to adapt to the restrictions imposed by the French. On the whole, the disturbance posed by French colonization is a cross-scale influence, affecting the individual, the family, the community and the economic system of herding in southern Morocco and is thus an effect of interconnectedness at multiple levels, i.e. panarchy. Other such interactions were the onset of war and the recruitment of soldiers. These events influenced the precariousness of the economic system of herding, both because it influenced the residence patterns of people and because it limited access to vegetal resources. These aspects moved pastoralists closer to a threshold after which, having crossed it, herding would not be possible anymore. Social responses such as job differentiation at the household level, countered this trend at the communal level because it allowed some to continue herding elsewhere. Overall then it can be argued that the system of herding in southern Morocco proved resilient to a certain extent but not without significant changes/sacrifices at the individual level, i.e. individual herders moving into salaried employment offered by the army. The flexibility of the tribe and the tribe being only one organization affects the resilience of the system, because arguably the absence/presence of connections with other groups elsewhere would facilitate or problematize accessing range lands elsewhere. It must be concluded however that while the system has proved resilient, it has also come to occupy a much more precarious position now than previously: a new system has been created, but it exists at a much smaller scale. The resilience of tribalism as a social organization in Mauritania is difficult to assess. On the one hand Bonte has shown the continued importance of tribal organizations in terms of marriage relations affecting current political alliances. In this sense, the tribal social system exercises the same function it did previously and is constant: the creation of social hierarchies. However, it does so within the overarching framework of the state, which demonstrated in Villasantes discursive analysis, actively manipulates tribal relationships. This manipulation, realized through state actors ability to distribute resources, severely affects the autonomy of the tribal social system and, affects its core characteristic: the creation and sustaining of hierarchies. It is thus clear that the importance of tribes persists, and that they have proved resilient to a certain extent because they still play a role in determining the political configuration of the

This is the intellectual property right of Justa Hopma and nothing may be reproduced from this essay without citing the author. day in Mauritania. In other words, the tribal institutions have proved highly resistant, they could not simply be supplanted by national relations or a nationalist sentiment to which discourses of re-tribalization attest. Yet, the re-tribalized social system has fundamentally altered because it is not autonomous and open to the manipulation of heads of state. Thus, while being resilient and still exercising influence, tribalism as a social system has moved along the latitudinal axis and whether it will be able to recover some extent of autonomy in the future, is to be seen. Arguably, this will be connected to the continued importance of marriage alliances, connected as they (still) are to political formations. In this context, the increased occurrence of marriages to non-relatives in urban environments (Bonte, 2008) is significant because it affects the strength of the system.

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B IBLIOGRAPHY
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