Sociological Analysis of the Mob Justice Phenomenon in Cases of Cattle Theft in the District of South Amboasary, Anosy Region, Madagascar

Abstract

Two recurrent phenomena in Malgasy society, namely the flight of the overefoot track of mob justice, draw the socio-economic landscape of the southern part of Madagascar, more precisely in the district of Amboasary Atsimo, located in the Anôsy region. The main objective of this study is to understand the underlying social mechanisms, including latent socio-cultural aspects, which feed the mob justice in response to the airflow in the district of Amboasary South. The central question guiding this study is what are the social and cultural mechanisms leading to the mob justice in the case of the airflow in the district of Amboasary South? This requires in-depth analyzes of the different factors and dimensions of social and cultural dynamics that contribute to this phenomenon. Qualitative data, collected in three municipalities of the Amboasary South district, namely Amboasary, Esira and Tsivory, are the material body of the study. Considering the mob justice as a systemic, complex and multiformatic social phenomenon, various theories have been implemented for the understanding of sociological facts and punitive behaviors, such as the theory of compensation and distributional justice. Two main results emerged from this study. On the one hand, the data demonstrate that individual and social factors affect participation in the mob justice. On the other hand, the facts reveal that social standards and collective representations play a crucial role in the legitimization of popular punishment.