Territorial Boundaries as Limits: A Foucauldian Analysis of the Agglomeration of Municipalities

Public management theories have focused scholars' attention on agglomeration processes between public administrations. Such processes are relevant at a local level to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of public services. Scholars and practitioners have pointed out economies of scale and efficiency in the production of public services as the most important incentives for adopting agglomeration policies.

All kinds of related discourse, such as that relating to economics for example, need to be coordinated in order to change the behaviour of citizens and make the agglomeration process acceptable. The present article adopts a Foucauldian approach in highlighting an additional variable/discourse in addition to all the others used to foster agglomeration processes: the identity and culture of the communities involved in this kind of process.     

The Malian Crisis and its Actors

The structural problems characterising Mali interlocked with the dynamics of crisis triggered by the war in Libya in 2011, causing the collapse of one of the few African democracies. The Tuareg rebellion of 2012, the coup d’état and the Islamist takeover of Northern Mali were the three key phases of this crisis, which pushed France – the former colonial patron – to intervene military. After analysing the major local actors involved in the crisis, the article critically analyses the engagement of the EU in the crisis.