The thesis considers the dialectic of "institution" (the Catholic Church) and "ideology" (the Church's teaching on justice and peace), and the response by the American Catholic Bishops to foreign policy issues (Vietnam and Latin America) involving them in this dialectic, as leaders in the institution and as those principally responsible for preaching the gospel of justice and peace. The first section traces the evolution of the structure of ecclesiastical government, in which episcopal authority was subordinate to the papal primacy, and its domestication of the prophetic-millenarjpian challenge (social and religious reform) in the interests of preserving the structure and the political power of the papacy (Chapter 1). The aggiornamento of Vatican II has heralded a change in structure - episcopal collegiality - and the establishment of social prophecy as the Church's mission in the world, but this calls in question the present character of the institution and its forms of authority. The second section considers themes from American catholic Church history which exemplify the tension - the reconciliation of the Church with the American way of life (chapter 1), the constricting influence of hierarchical autocracy on social criticism (Chapter 2), the formation of structures for episcopal collegiality and for the work of justice and peace (Chapter 3), the prophet of social criticism within the institution (Chapter 4). The third section considers the response of the American bishops to the war in Vietnam-— from support of government policy (Chapter 1), to an attitude of questioning, under the influence of Vatican II (Chapter 2), but without lasting effect on the tradition of acquiescence (Chapter 3). The only episcopal debate on the war at last establishes it as a moral issue and a collegial resolution is passed calling for its ending, as a moral . imperative (chapter 4). The number of individual episcopal voices critical of the government's policy increases, but the most powerful voice is "diplomatically" silent(Chapter 5). The fourth section considers the response of the U.S. bishops to the situation of the church in Latin America. The initial formation of collegial structures is directed to the institutional interests of the church in Latin America and in opposition to the danger of Communism (Chapterl). The movements of social change and revolution in the countries of Latin America and the experience of Vatican/ Vatican II's aggiornamento provide the background to Medellin, 1968, at which the Latin American bishops commit themselves to a mission of prophetic social criticism. The initial response of the U.S. bishops is evasive and lacking in awareness of a responsibility for the promotion of justice and peace (Chapter 2). The fifth section records the response to the Vietnam War in one diocese of the United States, by the diocesan priests' senate and a non-territorial parish. Here we see the consequence of accommodating the Church to the demands of social acceptance - the voice of criticism emerges only from within an experience of the inadequacy of present institutional forms.

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Colonial agents played a central role in the early relationship between England and the New England settlements. Agent's missions forced the colonies to devise a working definition of their political, legal and cultural status with regard to England. Agents secured charters and negotiated agreements which placed the colonies on a lasting constitutional base, both in transatlantic terms, and with respect to one another. The Rhode Island towns recognised at an early date that they needed English help if they were to resist annexation by the other colonies: that support was maintained by dispatching agents to successive English regimes. This study uses evidence from both sides of the Atlantic, analysing both the agency as an institution, and its role in English Atlantic affairs. The first generation agents were better organised and more successful than students of later periods have allowed. As first generation settlers with close personal ties to England, the early agents also offer unique insights into the attitudes and concerns of colonials when faced with civil turmoil in their home country. In turn, England's leaders held views about the colonies which are revealed in their dealings with agents. The study of agents has therefore allowed many seemingly unrelated strands in transatlantic politics and society to be drawn together and examined in a wider context.

Despite the fact that French is the only official language of the Province of Quebec today, and that a relatively small percentage of the population claim Scottish ancestry, this thesis proposes that a cohesive minority group, such as the Hebridean Scots of the Eastern Townships, have, nevertheless, made a significant contribution to the shape of the landscape, and to current cultural and economic values. The vast majority of emigrants to this part of Canada were from the Isle of Lewis, entirely Gaelic-speaking, mostly crofting families, who suffered the severe effects of the potato famine of 1846-51. Emigration continued till the end of the nineteenth century, by which time relatively large tracts of land that had been granted by the British American Land Company had been cleared and farmed by the Gaelic community. By examining the historical background, traditional folk culture, society and values of the Gaels of the Outer Hebrides who settled in the Eastern Townships, this thesis identifies the influences of the Gaels on the area from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The study investigates the elements that constitute the <I>identity</I> of today's descendants who no longer speak the Gaelic language, but who, nevertheless, have distinctively different characteristics from their French neighbours. By explaining the significance of inherited patterns in Gaelic culture and of subsequent trends in acculturation, the work aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Eastern Townships and of Quebec.

This work examines the geographical origins and destinations in British America of the emigrants who left Scotland during the seventy year period from 1784 to the mid 1850's. It considers the factors which influenced their decision to emigrate and choice of settlement location. A decisive factor in the settlement decision of many Scots was the pull of family and community ties. Once early colonisers had established a foothold for themselves their compatriots often followed. Prince Edward Island acquired its strong links with Argyll because it had been settled by first-wave colonisers from Argyll and they in turn attracted successive waves of Argyll emigrants. The choice of destination by the earliest colonisers and their regional origins were therefore crucial determinants of the earliest regional links forged between the two countries. The British government's trade and defence interests were among the greatest influences determining where Scottish settlers would initially be drawn. For instance, the concentration of both Lowland and Highland Scots in the boundary areas of Upper and Lower Canada, close to the United States, is largely attributable to the government's policy of encouraging population growth for defensive purposes. The Renfrewshire/Lanarkshire domination of the Rideau valley military settlements reflects the pulling power of the first-wave settlers who were subsidised through the government's assisted passages scheme in 1815. Poverty was a factor in the large response from this one area and poverty also led thousands of Highlanders, when faced with destitution following the decline of the kelp industry in the 1820's, to opt for Cape Breton. However, here the cheapness of transport and the relative ease of squatting on wilderness land were probably more important driving forces than the hand of government. Proprietor and land company involvement was also instrumental in forging distinct regional links. The Sutherlander's enduring preference for Pictou, Nova Scotia has its roots in the early recruitment of Sutherland settlers by the land company with extensive acreages of wilderness to colonise in Nova Scotia.

This research aims to explain current high levels of political disaffection among Chilean youth, to understand why youths in Chile are particularly more disaffected than other groups, and to comprehend the apparent new way of doing politics that would be emerging among this group. Since the return to democracy in 1990 Chile has experienced good levels of economic development and political stability. However, with the pass of years, Chilean citizens, and particularly young people, have increased their levels of political disaffection. Moreover, lately these feelings have begun to be expressed through strong social movements. This thesis argues that this phenomenon can be principally explained by a large disconnection between the political class and common citizens in Chile, which would be founded on both several institutional and socio-economic legacies of the dictatorship and the way the political transition was made. The relationship between youths and the political system in Chile is analyzed through both quantitative and qualitative analyses. This is done first through the direct analysis of the association between indicators of political disaffection and perceptions about the way of functioning of the Chilean Political system. Moreover, several case studies that express these feelings of disaffection are also analyzed in order to deepen the argument. First, an analysis of the lack of a youth public policy is done in order to describe a specific case that shows that the political system is particularly more disconnected regarding young people. Additionally, the success among youths of the independent presidential candidature of Marco Enriquez-Ominami in 2009 and the educational movements of 2006 and 2011-2012 are also analyzed. This is done also to more deeply comprehend the engenderment of feelings of disaffection but also in order to examine an apparent new way of doing politics that may be emerging among young people.

This thesis explores literary representations of the ways in which Mexican American women negotiate feminisms in the family across generations through the maintenance, contestation, and adaptation of traditional gender roles. Using the lens of negotiation to read the texts of Ana Castillo and Sandra Cisneros, this thesis analyses the ways in which intergenerational women are active participants in the complex interventions and mediations that make up family life. The term ‘negotiation’ is used to denote the ways in which intergenerational women resist patriarchal oppression. Negotiation in mothering is central in Chicana feminist writings for as Gloria Anzaldúa states, “[la] gente Chicana tiene tres madres. [The Chicana people have three mothers.] All three are mediators.”1 In their writings, Cisneros and Castillo explore the complex mediations taking place within the Mexican American family and the various devices and strategies employed by women to reveal the nuances of the Chicana experience. These characters are compelled to negotiate their place in the family on unequal terms, within the confines of a framework that stifles the development of women by prescribing them restrictive and limited roles in their capacity as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. The writing of Cisneros and Castillo demonstrates a politics of negotiation that critiques the gendered ideologies and roles of the family set-up. Close readings of these texts allow for nuanced analyses of the variety of tactics employed by women to survive, and oftentimes thrive, in the oppressive environment of the patriarchal family. In order to persist in an often misogynist environment they undertake feminist negotiations to forge meaningful identities. Their contestation is further complicated by the desire to remain connected to a Mexican heritage in a hostile Anglo American society. This thesis not only engages with the literary representations of the experiences of women in the family, but connects these experiences to the contexts in which these families are found. In the struggle to realise independent and yet interdependent identities, women look to the stories of the lineage of marginalised women in the family for inspiration, foregrounding the stories of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. This thesis calls for a rethinking of women characters beyond limited, and limiting, familial roles and uses the framework of feminist negotiation as a means to explore the empowering possibilities of intergenerational female relationships.

This thesis seeks to contribute to knowledge on Peru’s internal armed conflict (1980-2000), in which the insurgent group Shining Path attempted to destroy and replace the existing Peruvian state, by analysing the key themes of violence, culture and memory through the lens of space. By deploying this spatial analysis, the thesis demonstrates that insurgent and state violence were shaped by the politics and production of space, that cultural responses to the conflict have articulated spatialised understandings of violence and the Peruvian nation, and that commemorative sites exist within a broader geography of memory (or commemorative “city-text”) which can support or challenge memory narratives in unintended ways. Whereas previous literature on the Peruvian conflict, by Carlos Iván Degregori, Nelson Manrique and Peru’s Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación, has emphasised the fundamentalist nature of Shining Path’s Maoist ideology, this thesis highlights the ways in which party militants interpreted this ideology in their own way and adapted it to local realities. I also argue that counterinsurgent violence was premised upon a spatialised understanding of Peruvian society which conflated indigeneity with Leftist radicalism. Using a broadly Foucauldian framework, I argue that the state created spaces of exception in order to eliminate political and biopolitical enemies. In approaching cultural responses to the conflict, I use the work of Butler on grievability to argue that the perceived non-grievability of insurgents and indigenous communities has been produced by the vast (and to some extent imagined) cultural distances which exist between Peru’s disparate communities. I also tie these issues of grievability to post-conflict memory practice, arguing that commemorative sites have not only been shaped by spatialised understanding of the conflict and by two distinct memory narratives in Peru, but also by the politics and production of urban space in which each of these sites has been created.

A case study of US policy towards Afghanistan from the Soviet intervention of 1979 to the exit of US/ISAF combat troops in 2014, this thesis examines how the United States’ discursive construction of its interests and identity have moulded its long-term involvement with that country. It demonstrates how Washington used language to justify, represent and normalise its foreign policy practices. In this way, the intertwining of language and social practices provided policymakers’ with shared meanings and tools for how to operate. This sets it apart from the existing literature, which predominantly argues that the US has been motivated by its own self-interest in its dealings with Afghanistan. Whilst it does not entirely reject the importance of both realist and neo-realist assumptions, this thesis mainly deploys a constructivist theoretical approach to achieve its objectives. A relatively new framework in the field of international relations, constructivism provides a more nuanced and well-rounded perspective around which a nation’s foreign policy can be understood. It contends that collectively shared beliefs about a nation’s character and identity, rooted in its history, institutions, and its people explain both how it interprets and why it engages in the foreign policies that it does. In the case of Afghanistan, Washington believed that it is the only nation capable of positively effecting change. This sense of US exceptionalism has continuously informed America’s policies towards that country, whether that was during the Cold War when it constructed the ‘freedom fighters’ struggle against the Soviet Union's occupation or of a noble US helping Afghanistan fight against transnational terrorism in the post 9/11 context. Thus, although this thesis acknowledges how America's self-interest has played an important role in shaping its policies towards Afghanistan, the author seeks to explain Washington's long-term involvement with that country by focusing primarily upon America’s narratives, values and beliefs. This will enrich our understanding of US policy towards Afghanistan by providing a new perspective through which both nations’ continuous, evolving and complex relationship can be both historically and contemporarily understood. The work also aims to contribute more broadly to international relations and US foreign policy scholarship through its interdisciplinary approach.