Abstract The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the conflicts of interests that may arise between the differing land use needs of a municipal planning agency and The Swedish Armed Forces. The study is based on three distinct cases located in the municipalities of Umeå, Luleå and the region of Gotland; each respective case presents unique contextual factors at the local level and these also serves to exemplify the issue at a national level. The work has been carried out as a case study and the methods employed were research interviews, document-based research and literature studies. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the planning practice used by the respective municipal planning agencies and that employed by The Swedish Armed Forces in terms of differing aims, methods and outcomes. The study also highlighted how the outcome of each case was dependent upon a combination of contextual factors and the impact of external factors such as national politics, changing security policy, urban development and progression of the environmental legislation. In short, The Swedish Armed Forces is a land use agency that has had significant impact on the municipal planning in each of the locations that has been studied. In a Swedish context, their land use needs are classified as being of national interest and thusly have precedence over competing land use claims. These factors have combined to create conditions in which municipal planning is, to some extent, often restricted by the land use needs of The Swedish Armed Forces.

Instead of state governments, rebel groups have become the most prolific landmine users. However, rebels display significant variation in the way they restrict the use of landmines. While some armed groups seek to limit their effects to government forces, some indiscriminately lay mines irrespective of collateral damage, and others directly target civilians with landmines. Furthermore, some rebels have renounced the use of anti-personnel mines and engage in mine action. In this thesis, I seek to explain this empirical variation. I argue that civilian victimisation caused by landmines creates significant legitimacy costs to rebels, thus increasing incentives to exercise restraint. It follows that the more legitimacy-seeking behaviour rebels display, the more likely they are to exercise restraint on landmine use. I test this hypothesis in a structured focused comparison of three rebel groups from the Philippines. The case studies support the hypothesis, as legitimacy-seeking behaviour had a positive effect on restraint on landmine use in the selected groups. This thesis contributes to the field mainly in two ways. First, I conceptualise and measure restraint on landmine use, which had been neglected in previous studies. Second, I develop a theoretical argument specifically explaining variation in restraint on landmine use.

This study explores different perceptions of security and investigates if recognition of climate change as a security issue has implications for countries’ armed forces. I use a securitization framework to understand how discursive positions are created, and by making the framework more dynamic I investigate how similar security matters are represented in different ways. I argue that securitization of climate change in national contexts changes the armed forces’ strategies to bring about security and that their activities are affected by the underlying logics of the discursive arguments. To investigate the proposed relation, I conduct a comparative case study of Norway and Sweden, and find that different ideas about the security dimension of climate change have different implications for the armed forces’ practices and organization.

A tese analisa o pensamento dos militares sobre a Amazônia brasileira e a escolha das estratégias das Forças Armadas para defender a região, dando uma especial atenção às modalidades de sua presença na área. A pesquisa mostra que a identificação da Amazônia como prioridade estratégica das Forças Armadas não se deve apenas a uma reconfiguração dos interesses estatais em matéria de segurança e defesa. A importância atribuída à região amazônica pelos militares resulta de uma intrincada relação entre interesses e elementos simbólicos. O primeiro capítulo apresenta o debate acadêmico entre neorealistas, organizativistas e construtivistas sobre o que determina a adoção de uma doutrina militar por um Estado. O segundo capítulo analisa o discurso dos militares sobre a região amazônica e as transformações deste discurso ao longo das duas últimas décadas, dando especial atenção ao discurso do Exército. O terceiro capítulo examina a presença do Exército na Amazônia e as estratégias militares elaboradas para defendê-la. O quarto capítulo trata das percepções da Força Aérea e da Marinha sobre os problemas de Defesa Nacional na Amazônia. E o quinto capítulo aborda a percepção dos formuladores de política civis sobre a problemática amazônica e as medidas adotadas para incrementar a defesa militar da região. A principal fonte de pesquisa desta tese é a bibliografia militar, composta por discursos, entrevistas, documentos doutrinários, revistas, livros de memórias, e monografias de final de curso das Escolas de Comando e Estado- Maior das Forças Armadas. Para a elaboração desta pesquisa também foi consultada uma bibliografia acadêmica que trata das relações entre os civis e os militares no Brasil, de sociologia militar, e de relações internacionais. Ademais, foram consultados documentos parlamentares, como os anais da Câmara de Deputados e do Senado Federal, assim como os arquivos eletrônicos disponíveis na internet referentes aos partidos políticos brasileiros, aos Ministérios das Relações Exteriores, e da Defesa. / This thesis analyzes the Brazilian Armed Forces strategic thought about the Amazon and the military presence in the region. It shows that the identification of the Amazon as a strategic priority to Brazilian military is not due only to a reconfiguration of state security and defense interests. The importance given to the region by the military service derives from a framework of interests and symbolical elements. The first chapter presents the academic debate among neorealism, organization theory and constructivism about the origins of military doctrine. The second chapter analyzes the military discourse about the Amazon and its changes over the last two decades, giving special attention to the Army. The third chapter focuses the Army presence in the Amazon and the military strategies to its defense. The fourth chapter deals with the Navy and the Air Force perceptions on the Amazon security problems. The fifth chapter presents the civilian perceptions on the Amazon problem and the policies adopted in order to increase the military defense of the region. The main source of this research is the Armed Forces bibliography, which is composed by speeches, interviews, doctrinaire documents, military magazines, memory books and Military Academies degree monographies. An academic bibliography dealing with civil-military relations in Brazil, military sociology and international relations was also adopted. Besides, the thesis dealt with parliamentary documents (as the Proceeding of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Federal Senate), as well as internet electronic archives referring to political parties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

Esta pesquisa parte de um problema colocado em relação ao Império brasileiro, o emprego da violência armada nas relações políticas. De fato, chama atenção na vida política brasileira, num extenso período que pode abranger de meados do século XVIII à primeira metade do século XX, a recorrência de conflitos armados. A violência física era recurso nas disputas por poder no governo do país governo geral na América Portuguesa, governo central no Império, governo federal na República nas lutas entre setores das elites regionais pela condução dos governos provinciais, depois estaduais e no controle de municípios pelas lideranças locais. Ela ocorria, inclusive, nas eleições, justamente nos eventos concebidos para um exercício não violento de escolhas políticas. A formação do Estado brasileiro é a problemática mais ampla à qual se refere a pesquisa. A questão do estado se coloca, pois era relevante para sua sustentação levar em consideração uma característica da sociedade da qual emergia: o emprego generalizado da violência armada na vida social e política. Pode-se dizer da sociedade que vinha se formando desde o início da colonização que se tratava de uma sociedade armada, isto é, uma sociedade com capacidade para obter e empregar armas independentemente das instâncias governamentais. Era a força desta sociedade o maior obstáculo para o estabelecimento do monopólio estatal das armas e a constituição de uma reserva operacional de homens. O que a existência e a força desta sociedade colocam como problema a ser estudado é o exercício do poder por meio da coerção física como forma de solucionar conflitos de interesses e como forma de sustentar o estado ou contestá-lo. Observando-se a sociedade armada por este ângulo da materialidade do exercício do poder, o que se afirma como um dos principais problemas para uma força política que deve constituir seus recursos de coerção física contra adversários é a apropriação das capacidades físicas de homens para fins bélicos. Era preciso desenvolver ações e procedimentos regulares para reunir homens, obter obediência deles e fazê-los lutar. Formar um grupo armado ou uma tropa militar era fundamental para as forças políticas. Elas desenvolviam o que se podem denominar Modos de Atuação Armada. A pesquisa propõe o estudo de três deles. Um Modo Militar de Atuação Armada que foi desenvolvido pelo estado para constituir suas forças armadas e que no Brasil começou a ser aplicado com a legislação militar portuguesa no período colonial. Um Modo Senhorial de Atuação Armada, que pode ser assim denominado porque foi desenvolvido pelo segmento dos senhores para formar seus grupos armados e que se aproveitava da aprendizagem doméstica ou comunitária dos homens para lutar e empregar armas, sem fornecer treinamento para eles. A hipótese que será examinada nesta pesquisa é que a constituição das forças armadas do Estado brasileiro no período imperial não se dava apenas com o desenvolvimento de um modo militar de atuação armada. O estado não adquiria capacidade de atuação armada apenas com seus recursos exclusivos, ele lançava mão dos senhores e das forças que eles organizavam. O estado se armava por meio das relações que se estabeleciam entre os dois modos de atuação armada, o militar e o senhorial, ele dependia da combinação de ambos. O que vigorava no Exército brasileiro era um Modo Dependente de Atuação Armada. / This research starts of a problem put about brazilian Empire, the use of armed violence in political relations. In fact, draws attention in the Brazilian political life the recurrence of armed conflicts. Physical violence was feature in disputes over power in the country\'s government - general government in Portuguese America, central government in the Empire, the federal government in the Republic and the provincial and local governments. The formation of the Brazilian State is the broader issue to which it relates to research. The question arises of the state because it was relevant to their support take into account a characteristic of society which emerged: the widespread use of armed violence in social and political life. Can be said of society that had been forming since the beginning of colonization it was an armed society, i.e., a society with the ability to obtain and use weapons regardless of the government. Was the strength of this society the greatest obstacle to the establishment of the state monopoly of weapons and the establishment of an operating reserve of men. Observing armed society from this perspective of the materiality of the exercise of power, which is stated as a major problem for a political force that its resources should be physical coercion against opponents is the appropriation of the physical abilities of men for war purposes. It was necessary to develop actions and regular procedures to meet men, get their obedience and make them fight. Forming an armed group or a military troop was central to the political forces. They developed what may be called Modos de Atuação Armada. The research aims to study three of them. A Modo Militar de Atuação Armada which was developed by the state to provide its armed forces and in Brazil began to be applied by the Portuguese military law in the colonial period. A Modo Senhorial de Atuação Armada, which can be so called because it was developed by the thread of their masters to form armed groups who took advantage of the home learning or community of men to fight and use weapons without providing training for them. The hypothesis which will be examined in this research is that the constitution of the armed forces of the Brazilian state in the imperial period did not occur only with the development of a military mode of armed action. The state acquired the ability to not only armed action with its unique features, he threw hand of lords and the forces they organized. The state was brewing through the relationships that are established between the two modes of armed action, military and master, he depended on the combination of both. What prevailed in the Brazilian Army was a Modo Dependente de Atuação Armada.

Este trabalho visa contribuir com os estudos semióticos, analisando a estrutura e o funcionamento do discurso das duas organizações mais importantes da esquerda armada brasileira nas décadas de 1960 e 1970, a Ação Libertadora Nacional (ALN) e a Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (VPR), à luz dos conceitos retóricos de éthos e páthos. No contexto da ditadura brasileira e sob a influência de acontecimentos como a Guerra do Vietnam e a Revolução Cubana, entre outros, uma parcela da esquerda decidiu-se pela revolução, formando grupos militantes para lutar contra o governo. Esses grupos, que atuaram no Brasil entre 1968 e 1973, foram massacrados pelo regime militar, grande parte dos combatentes sendo assassinada e os sobreviventes passando por tortura, prisão, clandestinidade e exílio. No intuito de compreender a opção pela luta armada, bem como os valores e os impulsos de mobilização desses indivíduos, realizamos uma análise comparativa dos elementos éticos e passionais em documentos deixados pela ALN e pela VPR, com base nos princípios teórico-metodológicos da semiótica discursiva de linha francesa. A abordagem da noção de ator da enunciação e, em particular, da idéia de éthos e de páthos, a partir da perspectiva semiótica, revelou semelhanças e diferenças entre os discursos da ALN e da VPR, fundadas essencialmente nos aspectos passionais. / This doctoral thesis is intended to contribute to the field of semiotic studies by examining the discoursive structure of texts of the two most important Brazilian armed left-wing organizations in the 1960s and 1970s, namely the Ação Libertadora Nacional [National Liberty Action] (ALN) and the Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária [Popular Revolutionary Avant-Garde] (VPR), in the light of the rhetorical concepts of éthos and páthos. In the context of the dictatorial period in Brazil, and influenced by the ideals of the Vietnam War and the Cuban Revolution, amongst other events, left-wing militants decided in favour of the revolution, by forming armed groups to fight against the government. These groups, in activity in Brazil in the period between 1968 and 1973, were eventually massacred by military regime, the majority of the combatants being murdered and those who survived suffering torture, living clandestinely, or sent to prison or into exile. Aiming at an understanding of the option for the armed fight as well as of the values and mobilizing impulse of these individuals, we comparatively analysed ethical and passion elements in documents in the ALN\'s and the VPR\'s respective archives, according to the theoretical-methodological principles of French discoursive semiotics. The approach of the notion of enunciation actor and particularly of the concepts of éthos and páthos, from a semiotic perspective, revealed similarities and differences in the discourses of the ALN and the VPR, based essentially on passion aspects.

Thesis advisor: Stefan Hoderlein / This dissertation is divided into two parts. Part I - Dynamic Kidney Exchange In recent years, kidney paired donation (KPD) has an emerged as an attractive alternative for end-stage renal disease patients with incompatible living donors. However, we argue that the matching algorithm currently used by organ clearinghouses is inefficient, in the sense that a larger number of patients may be reached if kidney transplant centers take into consideration how their pool of patients and donors will evolve over time. In our work Two Novel Algorithms for Dynamic Kidney Exchange, we explore this claim and propose new computational algorithms to increase the cardinality of matchings in a discrete-time dynamic kidney exchange model with Poisson entries and Geometric deaths. Our algorithms are classified into direct prediction methods and multi-armed bandit methods. In the direct prediction method, we use machine learning estimator to produce a probability that each patient-donor pair should be matched today, as op- posed to being left for a future matching. The estimators are trained on offline optimal solutions. In contrast, in multi-armed bandit methods, we use simulations to evaluate the desirability of different matchings. Since the amount of different matchings is enormous, multi-armed bandits (MAB) are employed to decrease order to decrease the computational burden. Our methods are evaluated using simulations in a variety of simulation configurations. We find that the performance of at least one of our methods, based on multi-armed bandit algorithms, is able to uniformly dominate the myopic method that is used by kidney transplants in practice. We restrict our experiments to pairwise kidney exchange, but the methods described here are easily extensible, computational constraints permitting. Part II - Econometrics In our econometric paper Heterogenous Production Functions, Panel Data, and Productivity, we present methods for identification of moments and nonparametric marginal distributions of endogenous random coefficient models in fixed-T linear panel data models. Our identification strategy is constructive, immediately leading to relatively simple estimators that can be shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. Because our strategy makes use of special properties of “small” (measure-zero) subpopulations, our estimators are irregularly identified: they can be shown to be consistent and asymptotically Normal, but converge at rates slower than root-n. We provide an illustration of our methods by estimating first and second moments of random Cobb-Douglas coefficients in production functions, using Indian plant-level microdata. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo geral realizar uma análise de como contabilizar obrigações, com benefícios previdenciários de risco, em regimes de repartição simples, que não preveem formação de reserva ou métodos pré-definidos para isso. Para a consecução de tal objetivo, escolheu-se o benefício de pensão por morte (pensão militar) das Forças Armadascomo objeto de estudo. Nesse sentido, o uso de uma base de dados real contendo as informações individualizadas, pode ser apontado com um dos diferenciais desta pesquisa.Considerando-se o grau de confiabilidade dessa base de dados, além do ineditismo do seu uso em pesquisas acadêmicas, foi possível inferir que os resultados obtidos contribuíram para ratificar diversos conceitos expostos na plataforma teórica. A trajetória metodológica desta pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base no emprego de métodos de custeio atuarial a fim de realizar a projeção de receitas e despesas do sistema de pensões militares. Tais métodos, além da repartição simples, estão alinhados com as abordagens Accumulated Benefit Obligation(ABO) e Projected Benefit Obligation(PBO). Dessa forma, por meio da comparação entre os resultados oriundos das mencionadas abordagens, buscou-se identificar os possíveis impactos nas contas da União, enquanto ente empregador. O confronto de resultados foi realizado com base em uma análise comparativa cujo método principal para o cálculo atuarial foi o fluxo projetado, bem como o fundo financeiro decorrente desse fluxo. Com base nos valores obtidos, diante das diferenças conceituais das abordagens estudadas, entendeu-se que uma forma adequada para permitir a comparação dos resultados seria o cálculo do fundo financeiro futuro a cada período de tempo (t). A análise dos resultados indicou a ocorrência de diferenças representativas entre as abordagens. Na verdade, constatou-se que por não considerar o aumento salarial, o modelo ABO previu menores valores de obrigações com os benefícios futuros, portanto, os valores presentes do fundo financeiro foram maiores do que os modelos que consideraram aumento salarial.Nessa perspectiva, sob o enfoque do ente empregador, os resultados pareceram mais otimistas.Por fim, a abordagem PBO apresentou resultados que pareceram mais aderentes `a realidade do sistema, aproximando-se relativamente do resultado da repartição, no cenário com taxa de juros de 3% (menor taxa utilizada nas projeções). Considerando-se o tempo total das projeções, foi possível observar que, para os modelos de repartição e PBO, existiu um passivo a ser registrado nas contas da União. No entanto, o modelo ABO indicou o contrário, sugerindo que há uma ativo a ser contabilizado no Balanço Geral da União. Tal situação indicou que há diferenças concretas nos resultados, que podem levar os usuários da informação contábil a tomar decisões equivocadas em decorrência dessa distorção de valores. Ficou evidenciado que quanto maior for o horizonte de tempo projetado, maiores serão as diferenças. Ou seja, no menor horizonte adotado (25 anos) constatou-se as menores diferenças. Nesse horizonte, todos os modelos apresentaram valores de que sugerem a existência de um ativo a ser contabilizado. À luz de tal constatação parece razoável sugerir como adequada a revisão do tempo de projeção hoje empregado no âmbito da União (75 anos) na tentativa de reduzir a parcela de incerteza embutida nesse horizonte de longo prazo. / The main objective of this study was to analyze how to account for obligations with risk pension benefits in simple distribution systems that do not provide for reserve formation or predefined methods for this. In order to achieve this objective, the death benefit (military pension) benefit of the Armed Forces was chosen as the object of study. In this sense, the use of a real database containing the individualized information can be pointed out with one of the differentials of this research. Considering the degree of reliability of this database, in addition to the novelty of its use in academic research, it was possible to infer that the results obtained contributed to ratify several concepts exposed in the theoretical platform. The methodological trajectory of this research was developed based on the use of actuarial costing methods in order to realize the projection of revenues and expenses of the military pension system. Such methods, in addition to simple partitioning, are in line with the Accumulated Benefit Obligation (ABO) and Projected Benefit Obligation (PBO) approaches. Thus, through a comparison of the results from the mentioned approaches, it was sought to identify the possible impacts on the Union accounts, as an employer. The comparison of results was performed based on a comparative analysis whose main method for the actuarial calculation was the projected flow, as well as the financial fund resulting from this flow. Based on the values obtained, in view of the conceptual differences of the approaches studied, it was understood that an adequate way to allow the comparison of the results would be the calculation of the future financial fund at each time period (t). The analysis of the results indicated the occurrence of representative differences between the approaches. In fact, it was found that the ABO model predicted lower bond values with future benefits, therefore, the present values of the financial fund were higher than the models that considered a salary increase. From this perspective, under the focus of the employer, the results seemed more optimistic. Finally, the PBO approach presented results that seemed to be more consistent with the reality of the system, relatively close to the result of the distribution, in the scenario with an interest rate of 3 % (lower rate used in the projections). Considering the total projection time, it was possible to observe that, for the allocation models and PBOs, there was a liability to be recorded in the Union accounts. However, the ABO model indicated the opposite, suggesting that there is an asset to be recorded in the Federal Government Balance Sheet. This situation indicated that there are concrete differences in results, which may lead the users of the accounting information to make mistaken decisions as a result of this distortion of values. It has been shown that the larger the projected time horizon, the greater the differences. That is, in the lowest adopted horizon (25 years) the smallest differences were observed. Within this horizon, all models presented values that suggest the existence of an asset to be accounted for. In light of this, it seems reasonable to suggest as appropriate the review of the projection time currently used in the Union (75 years) in an attempt to reduce the uncertainty embedded in this long-term horizon.

La Côte d’Ivoire, pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest prospère et stable depuis le début de l’indépendance de 1960, bascule dans une longue et douloureuse guerre, le 24 décembre 1999, à la suite d’une mutinerie de soldats. S’en suit alors un intense ballet diplomatique visant à rétablir la paix et la Côte d’Ivoire assiste alors à plusieurs tentatives de médiation internationale. Cette recherche vise à comprendre la notion de succès en médiation en proposant de modéliser le conflit ivoirien à partir d’un modèle de la théorie des jeux, celui du dilemme du prisonnier. / Often cited as a model of peace and stability, Ivory Coast, a West African economic powerhouse, was embroiled in a civil war in September 2002 that disrupted the institutional order. During this time, the country was divided into the Southern and Northern zones. The former, a coastal area, is referred to as the "Governmental Zone". The Northern is the area that was captured in September 2002, by a few thousand army mutineers. Between the two North and South divide lies the buffer zone called the Zone de confiance, which served as a military buffer zone between the North and the South. How did the division occur? How did the several mediation work? Could we ensure that the signing of a peace agreement guaranteed a mediation success?

Between the 1950s and late 1990s the Swedish armed forces prepared for an invasion from the Soviet Union. However, after the cold war, the conditions changed, and the perceived threat slowly faded away. In lack of threats against the Swedish sovereignty, Swedish armed forces changed strategy. It led to extensive cuts in the Swedish army’s capability to defend the Swedish territory. The more extensive changes began in the late 1900s and in 2015, the Swedish government declared a military re-armament. This study is a comparative study of the justifications from the Swedish government for the changes in military capability. The propositions behind the defense acts of 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2015 represents the analysis material of this study. This study shows that the development of the security policy constituted the main justification for the disarming, as well as the military re-armament. The Swedish government has adapted its military capabilities according to how Russia has been acting militarily. The adaption has been made with respect to Russia’s current military capability. Thus, future changes in the Russian military strategy has been miscalculated. In addition to how Russia has been acting, disarmament has also been affected by other factors such as economy, culture and technology. The re-armament has also been affected by the defense’s low operational ability and increased need for cooperation capacity.