Pratiques associatives et construction d'un espace social citoyen à Trou du Nord (Haïti)

This master thesis focuses on the construction of a social citizen from the analysis of the intervention of two local agencies located in "Trou du Nord" (Haiti). It is exploring ways in which members will represent their ownership and represent their citizenship status. We put emphasis on the social mechanisms and associations involved in building what we call "citizen social space".  We have conducted a qualitative research from the works of Barber (1997) on practical policy participation and those of Lamoureux (1991) on collective social action. We assume, as central hypothesis, that associative practices are the main vector for construction of a citizen social space in "Trou du Nord". This central hypothesis is supported by two secondary one interested on the operating conditions for the exercise of citizenship and the affirmation of individual members belonging to the common area.  We have made fourteen semi-structured interviews conducted with members of the "Assemblée Populaire Veye Yo Trou du Nord (APVT)" and the "Rassemblement des militants solidaires de Trou du Nord (RAMSO)". The results indicate that members of both organizations show great willingness to contribute to the development of their locality and "wellbeing" of the population. This freedom of action is based on sharing their individual experiences and their extensive knowledge of the local realities faced daily citizens. Both groups are designed as spaces of sociability, as public and dynamics places reflecting the various types of local interaction. According to the analysis, members of both groups get involved in resolving collective problems at the local level without neglecting their own interests. They are part of the game of electoral bargaining and teach their members to behave as a community of interests and action, itself contained in all interactions, processes and dynamic resolution of problems local level. Those findings validate some of our hypothetical assumptions and reveal at the same time their limits. On the one hand, the willingness to help with the wellbeing on the population, with the need for the people to speak out and to express their collective and individual problems, with the desire to have control over the elected leaders actions, are all issues that allowed the groups to pursue broader collective interest and to define themselves as a citizen social space. On the other hand, their position in the political arena especially at election time makes them appear as groups of supporters, that is to say they are not always in the construction of the general interest.  We conclude this dual aspect is necessary both for the construction of a citizen social space and that of democratic citizen at the local level. In addition, those two groups help citizen to assert their sense of belonging to a local community. They help them also to develop capacities to criticize actions taking by both local and national leaders. They help them also to acquire the skills to participate – even though in the interstices – at the sociopolitical games as part of the process of building citizenship and a democratic system under construction.

Keyphrases: Democracy, Citizenship, Popular organizations, Citizen social space, Associative practices, Political participation, Collective social action