Géographies de l’alcool à Pondichéry : sociabilités, frictions et enjeux politiques d’une économie en croissance

Abstract

Geography of Alcohol in Pondicherry : Sociabilities, frictions and Political Issues of a Growing EconomyThis contribution proposes to establish the contours of a geography of alcohol in Pondicherry. Using empirical material taken from ethnographic surveys, it analyses the circulation of alcohol from its production sources to its different places and modes of consumption. It examines the driving forces of its economy and questions the « frictions » (Lawhon, 2013) generated by its flows and by the modes of consumption with which it is associated. Our hypothesis is that its production, sale and transport through different consumption spaces, as well as its associated uses, social values and meanings, reveal as much about social and power relations as they partake in them.In this perspective, we consider alcohol as a hybrid object, both a liquid matter and a social fact, whose analysis enables identifying the conflicting logics that prevail in the urban factory.