| Popis: |
The closure of the borders was imposed to all the countries as one of the strategies of spatial containment of the disease related to the new coronavirus (COVID-19). This measure, which concerns land, air, and sea borders, was aimed precisely at restricting the movement of populations, in order to limit their propagating effect of the pandemic. The diversity of socio-political, economic, and cultural contexts raises questions about the relevance, operationality and consequences of such a decision from one country to another. This article thus proposes to analyze the meaning and spatiality of the sanitary closure of borders in Togo in West Africa. It is inspired by the work carried out on the phenomenon of closures in geography, which considers the complexity of the variables with highly symbolic, strategic and political implications. The methodological approach adopted here is based on field surveys conducted in Togo at seven border posts, from 4 September 2020 to 30 March 2021, as part of a PhD thesis in geography. It combines a corpus of documents, observable data in the field, and semi-structured and informal interviews. The closure of borders as a strategy to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the extent of the Togolese state's authority over its territory and highlights the weight of the regional political and security context in the national decision to close itself off. Although its effectiveness is contested, this refrontization nonetheless generates political and economic benefits for the state and its border officials, as well as for local populations who benefit from this economy of closure. |
