Social and Solidarity Economy, Territorial Sovereignty, and Development in Africa: A Multi-Scalar Analysis

This article develops a renewed analytical framework to examine the role of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in African development by articulating it with territorial governance and territorial sovereignty within a geopolitical and multi-scalar perspective. Moving beyond approaches that treat economic, institutional, or social dimensions separately, the paper proposes an integrative conceptual model that highlights the indirect, mediated, and conditional relationship between SSE and territorial sovereignty.
The analysis identifies four key mechanisms through which SSE operates: the activation of endogenous capacities, the structuring of territorial value chains, the transformation of governance modes, and the strengthening of territorial resilience. It shows that the effectiveness of these mechanisms depends on institutional quality, policy coherence, and power configurations, within a global context marked by structural asymmetries and unequal integration into global value chains.
While SSE emerges as a potential lever for territorially embedded and inclusive development, its transformative capacity remains constrained by structural dependencies, power relations, and internal contradictions. By integrating a geopolitical reading, the article contributes to rethinking development trajectories in Africa and provides a conceptual framework for future empirical research.

Social and solidarity economy (SSE); territorial sovereignty; Africa; territorial governance; global value chains; territorial resilience; development

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