Em 2003, com a posse do presidente Lula, iniciou-se no Brasil uma política externa que tinha na diversificação de parceiros uma de suas linhas orientadoras. Com isso, o Mundo Árabe voltou à agenda diplomática brasileira e, nos anos de governo Lula, recebeu diversas visitas de autoridades brasileiras, sendo várias do Ministro Celso Amorim e do próprio presidente Lula. Além disso, novas embaixadas foram abertas, criou-se uma cúpula da América do Sul com a região e o Brasil buscou-se inserir no processo de paz palestino-israelense. Em 2011, no entanto, com a posse da presidente Dilma Rousseff no Brasil e o início de protestos no Mundo Árabe – os quais levaram a importantes modificações nos governantes de determinados países -, a continuidade dessa política ficou comprometida. A Mudança de Política Externa tem no perfil da liderança e no contexto internacional duas de suas fontes mais importantes de mudanças. No caso brasileiro, percebeu-se a continuação das linhas mestras da política externa brasileira, a defesa de princípios tradicionais, ao mesmo tempo em que ocorreu determinado recuo no ativismo político brasileiro não só na região, mas internacionalmente, no geral. Concluiu-se que a “Primavera Árabe” não levou a uma mudança da estratégia brasileira para o Mundo Árabe; o perfil da presidente, contudo, ocasionou uma diminuição na intensidade em que essa política é perseguida. / In 2003, with the inauguration in office of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, it started in Brazil a foreign policy that had in the diversification of partners one of its main lines. Therefore, the Arab World returned to the Brazilian diplomatic agenda and in Lula’s years received plenty of visits of Brazilian authorities, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Celso Amorim, and President Lula himself. Besides that, new embassies were opened, a Summit of South America with the region was created, and Brazil attempted to participate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. In 2011, however, with the beginning of Dilma Rousseff’s presidency in Brazil and the protests in the Arab World – that led to important changes in rulers of some countries – the continuity of this policy has been compromised. Foreign Policy Change has in the leadership profile and in the international context two of its main sources of changes. In the Brazilian case, we noticed the continuity of the major lines of Brazilian foreign policy and the defense of traditional principles. At the same time, we have however a retreat in the country activism not only in the region, but internationally, in general. We conclude that the “Arab Spring” did not cause a change in the Brazilian strategy to the Arab World; the President’s profile, on the other hand, led to a decrease in the intensity that this policy was pursued.

Lyme disease, caused by the bite of a deer tick infected with Borrelia burdorferi, has been increasing in distribution and prevalence annually throughout Maine. Worker’s compensation claims for Lyme disease have also been increasing steadily since the initial claim made in 1999. This research reviewed Maine worker’s compensation claims for Lyme disease from 1999-2011 to determine trends in state distribution and occupation type. Descriptive statistics were calculated to analyze different distributions of occupational Lyme disease. Occupations with the highest distribution of Lyme disease claims were those requiring workers to spend the majority of their time outdoors. A clear trend of claim distribution was seen, which mirrored that of the State of Maine Lyme disease case surveillance data. With the apparent increase in worker’s compensation claims due to Lyme disease and an increased geographic distribution annually, additional prevention and education efforts should be focused toward the higher risk occupations.

On January 8th, 2011 tragedy struck in Tucson, Arizona. A gunman opened fire on Representative Gabrielle Giffords' "Congress on Your Corner" event, wounding thirteen and killing six ("Arizona Shooting"). Four days later, President Obama spoke to a grieving crowd at the University of Arizona's McKale Memorial Center. This study seeks to demonstrate how the dramatistic process and the pentad provide insight into how Obama guides the nation through the process of relieving the guilt. Specifically, Obama's call for mortification instead of scapegoating as the means for victimage is examined in light of the context and organizational structure of the speech. In addition, a pentadic analysis of the speech is conducted, showing Obama's stress on the agent-agency ratio and a corresponding idealist-pragmatist outlook. Finally, conclusions are drawn about what this study adds to the academic literature on national eulogies, the presidency, and rhetorical studies at large. / Graduation date: 2012

This thesis compares the public policies of campaign finance in Canada with those in the U.S. and the U.K. in the period 2000-2011. The majority of the Canadian literature on party finance demonstrates a belief in the efficacy and necessity of the enterprise. This dissertation suspends this disposition and offers a critical approach to the regulation of money in Canadian elections. This thesis situates the discussion of party finance regulation in the context of contending models of democracy. Campaign finance rule changes are conceptualized within a new institutionalist framework. Changes in campaign finance rules are seen as changes in incentives and are seen to work in configurations, that is, interacting with existing formal and informal constraints. New institutionalism provides the avenue of inquiry into the position of political parties on the boundary of the public and private spheres and how campaign finance regulation may shift that boundary. This thesis adopts a mixed-method approach, incorporating the results of 65 semi-structured interviews with academics and political practitioners with primary document research. This thesis demonstrates that campaign finance rule changes interact with other electoral rules, types of parties and the nation’s historic institutions. The need to meld Quebec’s statist and civil-code traditions with Westminster democratic traditions, the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the role of subsequent court decisions, and the role of Elections Canada in its political finance oversight capacity, constitute major catalysts for Canadian party finance rule changes and for understanding the impact of rule changes. Contrary to the majority of literature on campaign finance reform, this thesis demonstrates that there may be diminishing marginal returns to additional campaign finance regulations, at least in a mature democracy such as Canada. Campaign finance rules reveal preferences for different models of democracy. As such, they must be carefully monitored.

This thesis compares the public policies of campaign finance in Canada with those in the U.S. and the U.K. in the period 2000-2011. The majority of the Canadian literature on party finance demonstrates a belief in the efficacy and necessity of the enterprise. This dissertation suspends this disposition and offers a critical approach to the regulation of money in Canadian elections. This thesis situates the discussion of party finance regulation in the context of contending models of democracy. Campaign finance rule changes are conceptualized within a new institutionalist framework. Changes in campaign finance rules are seen as changes in incentives and are seen to work in configurations, that is, interacting with existing formal and informal constraints. New institutionalism provides the avenue of inquiry into the position of political parties on the boundary of the public and private spheres and how campaign finance regulation may shift that boundary. This thesis adopts a mixed-method approach, incorporating the results of 65 semi-structured interviews with academics and political practitioners with primary document research. This thesis demonstrates that campaign finance rule changes interact with other electoral rules, types of parties and the nation’s historic institutions. The need to meld Quebec’s statist and civil-code traditions with Westminster democratic traditions, the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the role of subsequent court decisions, and the role of Elections Canada in its political finance oversight capacity, constitute major catalysts for Canadian party finance rule changes and for understanding the impact of rule changes. Contrary to the majority of literature on campaign finance reform, this thesis demonstrates that there may be diminishing marginal returns to additional campaign finance regulations, at least in a mature democracy such as Canada. Campaign finance rules reveal preferences for different models of democracy. As such, they must be carefully monitored.

À travers un cadre poststructuraliste, ce mémoire cherche à évaluer l'impact sur la durée et l'ampleur de la guerre en Afghanistan du discours de contre-insurrection (COIN) ainsi que celui des « manœuvres de palais » entrepris par des penseurs stratégiques influents au sein des Forces armées américaines dans la période 2008-2011. Nous verrons qu'au sein des institutions américaines de la sécurité nationale, il existe deux doctrines en compétition parmi les penseurs stratégiques : celle du contre-terrorisme, et celle plus récente de contre-insurrection. Chacune d'entre-elle propose une méthode différente pour faire la guerre en Afghanistan. Par une série de manœuvres de palais, c'est-à-dire des actions entreprises au sein des institutions du pouvoir afin d'influencer les décideurs, les promoteurs de la doctrine de contre-insurrection on progressivement réussit à faire appliquer leur doctrine en Afghanistan, avec comme conséquences, un accroissement de la présence militaire dans ce pays, et une hausse marqué de la violence. Pour le démontrer, nous procéderons d'une part à une mise en contexte afin de tracer l'origine de cette guerre et une généalogie qui permet de comprendre le régime de vérité qui structure les discours de ces penseurs stratégiques. D'autre part, nous évaluons le déroulement de trois séries de manœuvres de palais décisives : celles qui ont eu lieu pendant les trois premiers mois de la présidence d'Obama; celles de l'été 2009; et celles qui se sont produits pendant l'été et l'automne 2010. À travers ce récit, nous verrons en détails les conséquences de ces manœuvres. ______________________________________________________________________________

In this study we provide novel results on the extent of international trade synchronization during periods of trade collapses and US recessions. Based on monthly data for the G7 economies over the period 1961-2011, our results suggest rather idiosyncratic patterns of international trade synchronization during trade collapses and US recessions. During the great recession of 2007-2009, however, international trade experienced the most sudden, severe and globally synchronized collapse. (author's abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

Les histoires de guerre occupent une place prédominante dans l'imaginaire collectif et servent souvent à légitimer l'emploi de la force ou le maintien du statu quo au niveau de la sécurité internationale. Ces histoires sont véhiculées à travers diverses sources dans la société, dont la culture populaire, et en particulier le cinéma, qui constituent donc des terrains particulièrement fertiles pour en comprendre les tenants et aboutissants. Car ces histoires reposent sur des structures narratives bien précises qui sont bâties sur des inégalités de genre et de « races », entre autres rapports de pouvoir. Or, qu'en est-il des histoires « antiguerre » ou visant à dénoncer un ou plusieurs aspects de la guerre en général ou d'une guerre en particulier? Ces histoires reposent-elles sur les mêmes structures inégalitaires? La guerre en Irak présente un cas d'étude particulièrement intéressant pour répondre à cette question vue son impopularité auprès de la population américaine, reflétée au sein des productions cinématographiques. Ainsi, trois films américains de fiction portant sur la guerre en Irak et critiquant un ou plusieurs aspects de celle-ci seront analysés : In the Valley of Elah (2007), Green Zone (2010) et Home of the Brave (2006). Plus précisément, en utilisant un cadre théorique issu des études féministes poststructuralistes de la sécurité internationale, les masculinités et féminités mises en scène dans ces narrations seront analysées dans le but d'en déceler les composantes genrées et racisées ainsi que leurs effets sur la charge critique du film. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : sécurité internationale, genre, « races », histoires de guerre, guerre en Irak

The purpose of this study is to use a qualitative method to investigate the Swedish curriculums of 1919, 1962 and 2011 in search of attitudes and different usages of the popular culture of the time. To reach these conclusions Antonio Gramsci’s theories about cultural hegemony have been applied to prove how the superior classes, in this study these classes are represented by the Swedish school as an institution, use popular culture to maintain sovereignty of the lower classes. Ergo the problem highlighted in this study is whether the cultural class society exists in a fixed state since the 1919’s with the school as the institution to implement the tradition of cultural hegemony. The study shows that, as the usage of popular culture has not become a more frequent tool recommended from the Swedish government, it has become more accepted that teachers do use it in various forms and that the demand of a canonised aesthetical selection has become almost eradicated.

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