LAUSR

The Southwest Indian Ocean is characterized by the presence of several islands of different size, culture, socio-economic context and political status. Together, they form an original island region that comprised four island states as well as a certain number of non-sovereign territories (see Figure 1 and Table 1). If the island states are easy to identify (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles), the list of the island territories is subject to debate and varies according to different geographical and political postures and interpretations. In what can be considered as the most common approach, this list includes non-sovereign island territories that are actually subject to territorial disputes between France or the United Kingdom and three of the regional island states, namely Mayotte, the Scattered Islands, and the Chagos Archipelago, as well as Reunion over which French sovereignty is not contested by its island states neighbors. A broader geographical approach adds the coastal islands of the African continental states of Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania, especially the Zanzibar Archipelago which is a semi-autonomous region of the United Republic of Tanzania. Overall, the Southwest Indian Ocean islands form a region of diversity and contrasts, whether it be in terms of political status, territory, population, culture, economy, human development, natural resources or maritime domain (Table 1). The diversity is rooted in the specific environmental and human history of each of the island entities, with islands of volcanic, granitic or coralline nature and specific local mixes of settlers from various origins (African, Arabic, Austronesian, European, Indian, and Chinese). The contrast is particularly striking in living standards with Comoros and Madagascar recognized as less developed countries while Seychelles and Mauritius rank first in Africa in terms of human development. As well, diversity and contrasts are also very much founded internally, i.e. inside each island entity, both in terms of environments and population. Despite the singularity of each of its island states and territories, the region finds some commonalities through the insular nature shared by all of its constituents, a characteristic that is core to the region identity and that differentiate it from continental Africa. The coastal islands apart, the region also singularized itself as a vibrant area of the international Francophonie, which is a legacy of its French colonial history and a testimony of the still significant French footprint in all of these islands (French territories, diplomacy, culture and language, economic relations, military cooperation). Another common trait of the sub-region is the heavy slavery history and heritage which has led to the well-acclaimed Creoleness in the Mascarene Islands, for example. Even if these common traits of insularity and Francophonie are stimulating a common sense of belonging to a unique and coherent island community, the region building process remains relatively weak in terms of political and economic regional integration. Even though island states are member of several regional organizations (South African Development Community, Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, African Union, Indian Ocean Rim Association), the backbone of the Southwest Indian Ocean islands’ regionalism is the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC; in French: Commission de l’océan Indien, COI). The IOC is a concrete manifestation of the islands desire to work together towards a region of peace