This thesis, through a comparative study of Kosovar Albanian refugees in the UK and Italy, develops an understanding of refugees' attitudes towards return and identifies the factors that influence their decision-making process through the analysis of their interaction with the country of origin and the society of reception. It formulates a theoretical approach to the study of refugee repatriation based on Archer's form of sociological realism and her morphogenetic model, while also drawing on previous studies of refugee flight, settlement and return, which argue for the advantage of studying refugee specific issues as part of the whole chain of events that characterise the experience of exile. As such, it represents a contribution towards the theoretical understanding of refugees in general and refugee repatriation in particular. The case study is grounded on this theoretical approach and analyses refugees' perspectives on return within the proposed frame. It is based upon a qualitative study through fieldwork with refugees in both countries of exile and in this respect marks a distinctive contribution to the study of refugees in the UK and in Italy in general, and to the study of refugees' approach to return in particular. The thesis dismisses the predominant assumption of governments that' all refugees want to return' and concludes that refugees' attitudes towards return depend on a range of factors: their relationship with the country of origin, their interaction with the country of exile and their personal background. More significantly, it demonstrates the linkages between these factors and the time and modality of their flight, their interaction with the reception, integration and repatriation policies of the country of exile and their relationship with the conflict and society in the country of origin. In this respect, it represents a contribution to existing studies of refugee repatriation through the development of a more sophisticated account of what influences the decision-making process of refugees vis-a-vis return.

Durant les opérations de reconstruction qui ont eu lieu à la suite des conflits en Bosnie-Herzégovine (1992-1995) et au Kosovo (1998-1999), d’importants moyens ont été déployés par des organisations internationales pour réformer les espaces médiatiques bosnien et kosovar en vue de les dépolitiser. Ces réformes visaient notamment la création d’instances de réglementation des médias et la transformation du secteur de la radiodiffusion, qui s’avérait problématique en raison de la présence de médias relayant des discours incitant leur auditoire à la haine ethnique ou religieuse. Ces initiatives en matière de réglementation des médias et de réforme du secteur de la radiodiffusion ont nécessité des investissements considérables. Elles ont aussi généré des débats animés, qui ont révélé des divergences importantes entre les différents acteurs impliqués dans ces processus de réforme. En Bosnie, par exemple, l’élaboration de la loi relative au système de radiodiffusion publique a provoqué des échanges acrimonieux entre les responsables du Bureau du Haut Représentant et l’ambassade américaine. Au Kosovo, les initiatives de réglementation de la presse kosovare menées par l’OSCE et l’ONU ont été vivement critiquées par des ONG de défense de la presse qui les associaient à de la censure.Comment expliquer ces débats qui dévoilent différentes philosophies d’intervention en matière de réforme des médias? En procédant à une étude des théories normatives de la presse et de la littérature spécialisée, nous avons élaboré deux idéaux-types : l’« approche américaine » et l’« approche ouest-européenne ». Les caractéristiques de ces deux concepts idéal-typiques nous ont permis d’analyser les données recueillies durant notre recherche, incluant 50 entrevues, dont plusieurs avec des acteurs diplomatiques qui ont été au cœur de ces processus de réforme. Ce faisant, nous avons construit quatre propositions qui dévoilent les principales conclusions avancées dans cette thèse. Nous suggérons notamment que les approches des acteurs impliqués dans les processus de réforme des médias en Bosnie et au Kosovo peuvent être éclairées par certaines normes dominantes des environnements médiatiques aux États-Unis et en Europe de l’Ouest, ce qui permet une meilleure compréhension de leurs débats et leurs divergences. / During the interventions that followed the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) and in Kosovo (1998-1999), important resources were engaged by international organizations to reform the Bosnian and Kosovan media space. These reforms were aimed at the depoliticization of the media environment through the establishment of media regulatory bodies and the transformation of the broadcasting sector, which had caused concern due to the presence of propagandist media that were inciting ethnic and religious hatred.Media regulatory and broadcasting reforms implemented in Bosnia and Kosovo required significant investments. Most interestingly, these reforms caused heated debates that revealed significant differences of view among the actors involved. In Bosnia, for instance, the development of a law targeting the public broadcasting system generated a sometimes acrimonious debate between the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and the American embassy. In Kosovo, initiatives to regulate the media by the OSCE mission and the United Nations were vigorously criticized by NGOs defending freedom of the press, arguing that such measures amounted to censoring of the media. How can we explain these debates, which reveal different intervention philosophies with regards to media reforms? In light of an analysis of the normative theories of the press and of the relevant scientific literature, we have developed two ideal-types: the “American approach” and the “West-European approach”. These two concepts facilitated the analysis of the data collected during this doctoral research. The data included the information gathered from fifty interviews, many of which were conducted with policy makers and diplomats that played a key role in these reforms. The data collection and analysis, achieved through an iterative process, allowed us to develop four propositions, which reveal the main findings of this research. We suggest, among other things, that the approaches of the actors involved in the media reform processes in Bosnia and Kosovo can be explained in light of some of the media environments’ dominant norms in the United States and in Western Europe, which clarifies in turn the different perspectives of these actors and the debates that resulted.

This thesis , through critical discourse analysis and thirty - eight in - depth interviews, examines the discursive construction of UK Kosovo Albanian D iaspora iden tity by Kosovo Albanians in both the UK and Kosovo. S imultaneously , I explore how identity and national and cultural belonging are multidirectional and shaped by both a diasporic host society and a homeland context . Although s cholarshi p on migration and diasporas is prolific, t hi s thesis argues that due to prev ious predominant scholarly focus on host context s over homeland contexts , current scholarship is limited and limiting. The analysis highlights the ‘Neither Here Nor There’ phenomenon, which suggests that Kosovo Albanians in the UK do not passively identify with a homeland identity or necessarily with a host society identity, and that this identity is multiple and context bound. The empirical chapters demonstrate that homelands are not passive distant and ‘imagined’ places but politically active agents who seek to tap into their diasporas through opaque power and what I term distance based biopolitics to construct and benefit from the diaspora . My analyses also demonstrate s that ‘othering’ discourses are not exclusive to host societies but are also present in the discourses of Kosovo Albanians in Kosovo and within the diaspora communities . I explore h omeland stereotypes such as the ‘Schatzi’ phenomenon , which are embedded discursively and ideologically in Kosovo and function to construct and ‘other’ the Kosovo Albanian Diaspora, especi a lly in Germany and Switzerland. Whilst, the UK - based diaspora is often attributed with a cultural sophistication and ‘mentality’ th at makes them more accepted in Kosovo . Therefore this research suggests that to understand diaspora complexities also requires focus on the imagined diaspora and its relationship(s) with the homeland . This thesis also provides an original contribution by extending current debates and theories about migration , diaspora and identity and by highlighting how Kosovo Albanians already settled in the UK view and discursively construct their position and identities with the UK. Coupled with all these elements, my work contribute s to migration, diaspora and identity studies as well as to studies about Kosovo Albanians in the UK, which are still lacking.

Dans cette thèse je démontre comment les imaginaires de la nation serbe, de l’Occident et des valeurs universelles (démocratie, droits de l’homme et tolérance) véhiculées au sein de la revue ‘Orthodoxie’ (publiée par l’Eglise Orthodoxe Serbe) ont pour but final la préservation de la position sociale de l’Eglise et de ses intérêts en tant qu’une institution religieuse au sein de la société serbe. Cette ‘résistance’ aux changements construit des imaginaires sociaux qui nous appréhendons comme des représentations sociales et ont tendance à (re)devenir la vision dominante de la société serbe. J’étudie le discours de la revue ‘Orthodoxie’ et des acteurs qui y contribuent afin de montrer le processus des créations des imaginaires sociaux et leurs tentatives de se présenter au public et dans la sphère publique comme les courants de pensée dominants concernant la nation serbe, l’Occident et les valeurs ‘universelles’. J’ai répondu aux questions suivantes : - comment la tradition nationale « se traditionalise », la culture nationale s’idéalise et l’identité nationale se sacralise ? - comment l’imaginaire de l’Europe et de la culture européenne/occidentale (‘EUX’) se construisent en opposition à l’imaginaire de la nation serbe (‘NOUS’) ? - comment les valeurs de la démocratie, des droits de l’homme et de la tolérance sont imaginées à travers une telle construction opposée (‘EUX’ versus ‘NOUS’) ? / In this thesis I demonstrate how do the imaginaries of Serbian nation, of Occident and of ‘universal’ Values (democracy, human rights, tolerance), constructed in the journal published by the SOC serve as factors of conservation and protection of the social position of the Church, its social and political interests in the sense of national religious institution in the Serbian society. The ‘resistance’ to change allows the construction of social imaginaries that we comprehend as social representations with a tendency to become (again) or to impose them as a dominant vision of the Serbian society. I studied the discourse in the ‘Orthodoxy’ journal and the social actors that published their articles in order to demonstrate the process of the creation of social imaginaries and the tentative to present them publicly/in the public sphere as dominant currents of social thoughts on Serbian nation, Occident and ‘universal’ values. I answered to the following questions:- The way national tradition is “traditionalized”, national culture is idealized and national identity is sacralized.- How the imaginary of Europe and European/western culture (‘THEM) are constructed in an opposition to the imaginary of a Serbian nation (‘US’)?- How the values of democracy, human rights and tolerance are imagined through this opposed imaginary construction (‘US’ vs ‘THEM’)?