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When Justice Becomes a Business

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In a fair society, arrest should be based on reasonable evidence, detention should be lawful and temporary, and every accused person should receive a timely hearing. But what happens when these protections fail? A person may be arrested, detained for weeks or months, and held in overcrowded conditions before the evidence is properly tested. Their family may be forced to borrow money for food, transport, legal representation and other essential costs. By the time the case is finally heard, the damage may already be severe: - employment may be lost; - businesses may collapse; - children may be deprived of support; - reputations may be destroyed; - families may fall into debt. If the case is later abandoned because there is insufficient evidence, the authorities may treat the matter as closed. But for the individual and their family, the consequences continue. This is how the Coercion Machine operates: not necessarily through one unlawful act, but through a chain of pressures that make su...
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The Pyramid of Coercion Part 2: The Coercion Machine

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In Part 1, we examined how fear of witchcraft and the occult can become an invisible wall—discouraging people from speaking openly, challenging authority or standing together. Part 2 turns to a more visible system of control: the police, the courts and the prison system. A functioning justice system should protect citizens from crime and defend the innocent. Arrest should be based on reasonable grounds, detention should be lawful and temporary, and every accused person should have access to a fair and timely hearing. But when people are arrested without sufficient evidence, detained without charge, or held in overcrowded and degrading conditions, justice can become something very different. Freedom is turned into a commodity. Better food, safer accommodation, legal assistance and even access to the courts may depend on money. The damage extends far beyond the individual. Families may be forced to borrow, sell property or abandon their livelihoods to support someone who has not been con...
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The Political Silence: Why Does the State Not Do More?

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In previous posts, we explored how beliefs about witchcraft and spiritual harm vary across Madagascar. We also considered how fear can influence behaviour, relationships and access to justice. This raises a difficult political question: if accusations can lead to intimidation, exclusion, violence or financial exploitation, why does the state not do more to prevent the abuse? The answer is not simply that Madagascar has no laws. Legal provisions have existed against sorcery, magic and charlatanism, particularly where such practices disturb public order or harm people or property. The problem is the gap between law on paper and protection in practice. The Limits of Legislation A law is only effective when people can safely report abuses and trust the police, courts and local authorities to act. In reality, a person accused of witchcraft may face: - threats from neighbours or relatives; - expulsion from a community; - physical violence; - pressure to pay a healer or spiritual authority; -...
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The Malagasy Mosaic: Regional Beliefs and the Meaning of Mosavy

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In Madagascar, beliefs about witchcraft and spiritual harm are not uniform. The meaning of mosavy changes according to region, history, community, kinship, and relationships with ancestors and ritual specialists. It is therefore important not to describe “Malagasy witchcraft” as a single system. Different communities have different explanations for illness, misfortune, social conflict and spiritual power. Merina: The Central Highlands Among Merina communities, particularly in Imerina, mosavy has historically been associated with harmful mystical action, illness, misfortune and disruption of the social order. Traditional specialists, including ombiasy and diviners, may be consulted to interpret whether a problem has a physical, social, ancestral or spiritual cause. The same specialist may be regarded as a healer by one person and viewed with suspicion by another. Historically, accusations of mosavy could also become connected to political authority and social punishment. This shows how ...
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The Malagasy Mosaic: Belief, Misfortune and the Biology of Fear

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Introduction: One country, many traditions Madagascar is not culturally uniform. Beliefs about ancestors, spirits, healing, curses and witchcraft vary between regions, ethnic communities, religious traditions, and urban and rural settings. The purpose of this post is not to label these beliefs as backward. It is to understand how people interpret illness, misfortune and conflict—and how fear can sometimes become a form of social control. 1. Belief is not the same as accusation A belief in ancestors or spiritual protection can provide identity, comfort and community. It becomes more dangerous when misfortune is attributed to a specific person and that accusation leads to: - ostracism; - threats or violence; - financial exploitation; - forced rituals; - denial of medical treatment; or - pressure to confess or submit. The central question is not whether people are religious. It is whether belief is being used to protect people or to control them. 2. Regional variation Rather than presenti...
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The Witch Trials of History: How England Moved from Fear to Reason

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The Witch Trials of History: How England Moved from Fear to Reason When I was a boy growing up in Guernsey, the word "witchcraft" felt like a relic of a distant, darker age. We heard the stories, but they were just that—stories. The world had moved on. England, and the West more broadly, hadn't just "stopped believing" in witches; they had undergone a profound, centuries-long transformation. They had traded a system of fear for a system of law. But this transition wasn't a natural accident. It was a brutal, hard-won fight for Agency. The Era of the "Invisible Wall" In the 16th and 17th centuries, England was a place where the "Invisible Wall" of fear was very much alive. Misfortune—a crop failure, a sick cow, a sudden fever—was rarely seen as a structural problem. It was seen as the work of a neighbour , a curse, or a spiritual attack. The law reflected this fear. In 1542, Henry VIII introduced the first Witchcraft Act, making it a felony...
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The Digital Frontier: Is Social Media Breaking the Silence?

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We looked at how traditional media in Madagascar is controlled through state broadcasting, elite ownership, and the "quiet" censorship of legal threats. But there is a new variable in this equation: Social Media. For a long time, social media was viewed as the ultimate tool of Agency. It allowed citizens to bypass the "gatekeepers" of the traditional press, share videos of protests, and organize around issues that the state wanted to keep quiet. But as we have seen globally—and increasingly here in Madagascar—the state is not just watching; they are adapting. The Two Faces of the Digital Space 1.  The Tool of Agency: Social media has undeniably lowered the barrier to entry for truth-telling. When a student posts a video of a local injustice or a citizen shares a report on a missing person, they are exercising their agency. They are creating a record that the "official" media cannot ignore. This is the "Agency-First" potential of the digital age. ...
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