« Small is not beautiful » : la fragmentation politique de la Caraïbe

La géographie politique de la Caraïbe ne correspond plus à celle des années soixante. L'insularité, les cultures différentes, le colonialisme et la balkanisation en 23 territoires politiques ont fragmenté le monde antillais. La faillite d'une solution fédérale dans les Antilles Britanniques a été le principal ferment de cette pulvérisation territoriale. Débordant sur le domaine maritime, la partition politique du monde antillais engendre une régionalisation de la Mer Caraïbe par l'instauration de la zone économique de 200 milles. Actuellement, les Antilles françaises, américaines et néerlandaises apparaissent comme des systèmes territoriaux intégrés en sursis. Englobant les jeunes États successeurs des Antilles Britanniques, le marché commun Caricom n'atteint pas les objectifs escomptés. Finalement, en l'absence d'une antillanité intégratrice, la Caraïbe a été et ne demeure pas autre chose qu'une expression géographique. Elle constitue une vivante antithèse du principe « small is beautiful ».The political geography of the Caribbean no longer corresponds to that of the sixties. Insularity, different cultures, colonialism and balkanization of the West Indian World into 23 political territories have fragmented it. The failure of a federal solution in the British West Indies has been the principal cause behind this territorial pulverization. Spilling over into a strictly maritime domain, the political partitioning of the West Indian world, by the application of a 200 miles offshore economic zone limit, has fed the regionalization of the Caribbean. Actually, the French, American and Dutch West Indies appear to be united without a purpose. The Caricom common market, which encompasses the new young states born of the defunct British West Indies, is not living up to its hopes. Finally, in the absence of an integrating West Indianness, the Caribbean is and remains nothing else but a geographical name. It is a living contrast to the idea that « small is beautiful »

Le libéralisme intergouvernemental et le nouveau régionalisme caribéen

Le libéralisme intergouvernemental proposé par Andrew Moravcsik est devenu une approche très importante pour expliquer le processus d’intégration en Europe occidentale. Peut-il être valable pour analyser l’intégration entre les pays sous-développés ? Le but de l’article est d’introduire une réflexion générale sur la contribution du libéralisme intergouvernemental pour expliquer le processus d’intégration de l’Association des États de la Caraïbe. Sur le plan de l’analyse, le travail aborde l’approche de Moravcsik et sa contribution à la théorie de l’intégration régionale. Ensuite, nous retiendrons un élément de l’approche de Moravcsik pour expliquer le développement de l’aec. À partir de l’étude du processus de formation de préférences nationales au sein de trois pays de l’aec : le Costa Rica, la République dominicaine et le Mexique, le texte analyse la façon dont les idées de Moravsick peuvent être appliquées au Bassin Caraïbes.Liberal intergovernmentalism approach proposed by Andrew Moravsick is an important contribution to regional integration studies in Western Europe. Can it also help explaining integration among developing countries ? The objective of this paper is to examine the extent to which liberal intergovermentalism can be used to explain the process of integration in the Caribbean Basin, in particular, the Association of Caribbean States (acs). Firstly, this paper evaluates Moravcsik’s approach to regional integration and its contribution to integration theory. Secondly, one analyses the development of the acs by using a variable of Moravsick approach : the process of formation of national preferences. Based on the study of the formation of national preferences in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, the paper shows the extent to which Moravsick ideas could account for regionalism in the Caribbean Basin

Mamey (Mammea americana L.) in Martinique Island : un patrimonio para ser valorizados

Introduction. Mamey (Mammea americana L., Clusiaceae) was present in Martini-que before the Spanish colonization. Its distribution area includes tropical America and the Carib-bean. A significant phenotypical diversity is observed on the island, with fruits of very uneven quality as well as various agronomic, pomological and biochemical characteristics. The aim of our work was to localize, identify and characterize trees considered of superior quality. Materials and methods. A survey carried out between April and September 2005 allowed the selection of 10 trees renowned by the people as bearing high-quality fruits. These fruits present a small number of seeds and nonadhesive pulp, and develop a sweet taste as well as a strong flavor. During the year 2006, pomological description and biochemical analysis (total soluble solids and total titrable acidity) were carried out on the fruits. Results and discussion. The biometric and biochemical characteristics measured were generally better than those cited in the literature. Some accessions stand out and present great assets for their promotion for the fresh market as well as for processing. Moreover, some tendencies emerged from the variability observed for a few characters: thus, the variability of the biochemical characteristics measured within one accession, as well as between accessions originating from the same land, is low. It is null for the seed adhesion to the pulp for fruits belonging to the same accession. Conclusion and perspectives. Our work is one of the first relating to identification and characterization of phenotypical diversity of the M. americana L. species, especially in Martinique Island. Our results are likely to pro-mote the development of a diversification network. Some highlighted trends suggest new research to be able to distinguish the role of the environmental versus genetic components in the performance of the phenotypes observed