The Mauritian Paradox

Fifty years of Development, Diversity and Democracy

Ramola Ramtohul, Hylland Eriksen, Ramola Ramtohul, Hylland Eriksen

• Publisher: University of Mauritius Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9789990373486
• eBook ISBN: 9789990373509
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: Social Sciences

Speaking of Mauritius as an economic miracle has become a clich, and with good reason: Its development since Independence in 1968 can easily be narrated as a rags-to-riches story. In addition, it is a stable democracy capable of containing the conflict potential inherent in its complex ethnic and religious demography. This book brings together some of the finest scholarship, domestic as well as foreign, on contemporary Mauritius, offering perspectives from constitutional law, cultural studies, sociology, archaeology, economics, social anthropology and more. While celebrating the indisputable, and impressive, achievements of the Mauritian nation on its fiftieth birthday, this book is far from toothless. Looking back inevitably implies looking ahead, and in order to do so, critical self-scrutiny is essential, to be able to learn from the mistakes of the past. The contributors raise fundamental questions concerning a broad range of issues, from the dilemmas of multiculturalism to the marginal role of women in public life, from the question of constitutional reform and the continued problem of corruption to the slow destruction of Mauritius joy and pride, namely the beauty and purity of its natural scenery. Taking stock of the first fifty years, this book also looks ahead to the next fifty years, giving some cues as to where Mauritius can and should aim in the next decades.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• List of Abbreviations
• Notes on contributors
• Introduction
• The Constitution at 50
• Stability and Dilemmas. The Mauritian Electoral System
• Political Leadership in Mauritius. The Trappings of the Poster Child Syndrome
• The Media as Agents of Democracy in Mauritius. Issues and Challenges since Independence
• Mauritius’ Economic Success Uncovered
• Genealogies of a Miracle. A Historical Anthropology of the Mauritian Export Processing Zone
• Small is beautiful, but is it viable? Scale and Mauritian options for the next 50 years
• Transcending Intersectional Identities. The Women’s Movement in Postcolonial Mauritius
• The Materiality of Multiculturalism. An Archaeological Perspective
• Young People Living Multiculturalism in Contemporary Mauritius
• From Language to Religion in Mauritian Nation-Building
• Performative Historiography of the Mother Tongue. Reading ‘Kreol’ outside a Colonial and Nationalist Approach
• Deconstructing Mauritian Literature
• “For Mauritians, Joy; for Chagossians, Sadness” Mauritian Independence, the Sacrifice of the Chagos Archipelago, and the Suffering of the Chagos Islanders
• Being ‘Mauritian’. Indo-Mauritians in the UK
• Back cover