This dissertation assesses the role of social media and its effects on the Arab Spring. The research will be guided by two questions: Could the use of American Dot.com social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Google, Twitter, and YouTube) by Tunisians and Egyptians during the Arab Spring, to overthrow their governments, be characterized as a violation of Tunisia’s and Egypt’s sovereignty (cyber-sovereignty)? Secondly, what was the significance of the abovementioned social networking websites during the Arab Spring? The first question will be examined by using Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Theory; the problem, policy, and political streams have to converge simultaneously in order to create a window of opportunity to enact change. For this to occur, it is the responsibility of the policy entrepreneur to combine the three streams. The policy entrepreneur is an individual(s) who are tasked with the responsibility of integrating the three streams. During the Arab Spring, social media served as a mechanism for citizens to bypass government censorship to chronicle and narrate events as they occurred. As a result, I assert that it was the use of social media in this manner by the policy entrepreneurs that violated the sovereignty of both Tunisia and Egypt. The second question will be analyzed by administering questionnaires and reviewing tertiary sources to assess the significance of the abovementioned social networking websites during the Arab Spring. By examining the two research questions together, the conclusion of this analysis will potentially provide the basis for political cooperation towards an international cyber-sovereignty doctrine. The Arab Spring was far greater than Tunisia and Egypt. However, I felt it was of the utmost importance to focus on the origin of the Arab Spring, as well as the significance in which the role of social media became instrumental. Analyzing the role of social media, the transformation of power, and cyber-sovereignty in both countries through four (individual, state, organizational, and international) layers of analysis will help to assess the role of social media during the Arab Spring and to generate layers of protection to mitigate its influence.

This Master Thesis aims to present the current existential threats to Israeli security. Israel is a Jewish country in the middle of the Muslim region and her demise is wished by many involved parties. The Author describes sophisticated security systems of Israel, their efficiency and its unofficial nuclear program. From the state actors, it is Iran that has become the number one perceived threat in Israel thanks to its officials' rhetoric, its support towards terrorist organizations and its nuclear program. Israel is often involved in asymmetrical conflicts against non-state actors like Hamas and Hezbollah. The new extremist group Islamic State can also potentially pose a threat. Has Israel got reasons to worry about her existence? Has the Arab Spring brought about positives, negatives, or new possibilities? The Author aims to answer these questions.

Cette thèse de doctorat propose que les mouvements ou les soulèvements populaires puissent unir l'éthique et la politique de manière directe et pratique pour constituer un domaine à partir duquel on peut avancer une théorie normative répondant aux défis de l'injustice dans notre monde. Toute étude de ces mouvements doit prendre en compte un événement spécifique et son contexte et donc renoncer à la position de l’"observateur". J'ai donc choisi d'examiner les révolutions déclenchées dans le monde arabe au cours de la dernière décennie, en mettant l'accent sur la Place Tahrir en Egypte. Pour apprécier le caractère innovateur qu'offrent ces révolutions, il est nécessaire de commencer par démonter les fondements épistémiques profondément enracinés dans la théorie politique occidentale qui prennent en considération le succès des révolutions en se basant uniquement sur leurs résultats finaux, et en particulier leur effet éventuel sur le changement de régime. Ces mouvements populaires défient non seulement les études de démocratisation et leurs recommandations pour un changement provenant des structures du pouvoir, mais ils remettent aussi en question le domaine de la politique ainsi que ses principes fondamentaux. Cette confrontation se produit au moment où le peuple les s’aperçoivent de leur qualité d’agence et utilisent leur pouvoir politique de manière manifeste et concrète. Comme dans le cas de la place Tahrir, les citoyens créent un espace public ouvert aux désirs et intérêts de chacun, ainsi qu’à la solidarité et à la responsabilité collectives. Les conditions dans lesquelles ces mouvements organisent leur action politique collective - horizontalement, de manière non hiérarchique et sans intermédiaire de la part des représentants et des dirigeants – est une manière de résister à la menace que leur pouvoir soit manipulé pour des fins médiocres se rapportant au pouvoir de l'État. Cette forme d’organisation permet également la reconfiguration des interactions éthiques de la foule, clairement exposée sur la place Tahrir, produisant ce que j’appelle «l’éthique de companionship». Cette éthique peut être reformulée et mise en pratique d'une manière sensibilisée à soi-même et autrui, et d’une manière adaptée aux besoins spécifiques et aux injustices du monde qui nous entoure. Une « éthique de camaraderie » est donc réceptive et ouverte à la négociation et à la persuasion, et constitue avant tout un « art de vivre ensemble ». / This dissertation proposes that popular movements or uprisings can unite ethics and politics in a direct, practical manner and constitute an illuminating domain from which to advance normative theory that responds to the challenges of injustice in our world today. Any study of these movements ought to engage with a specific event and its context and renounce the position of ‘observer.’ Accordingly, I have chosen to examine the revolutions sparked in the Arab world over the past decade, particularly focusing on the account of Tahrir Square. In order to appreciate the novelty these revolutions offer, it is necessary to first dismantle the deeply entrenched epistemic grounds of Western political theory which consider revolutions only on the basis of their end results, particularly whether or not they effect regime change. These popular movements not only defy democratization studies and its prescription for change from above, they also fundamentally challenge the domain of politics and some of its basic tenets. This confrontation occurs the moment the people gain their agency and use their political power demonstrably and concretely. The domain of politics is further challenged when the people create, as they did in Tahrir Square, a public sphere that is receptive to individual desires and interests as well as collective solidarity and responsibility. The conditions under which these movements organize their collective political action – horizontally, non-hierarchically, and unmediated by representative and leaders – resist the threat of their power being instrumentalized to obtain middling results pertaining to state power. This form of organization also reconfigures the crowd’s ethical interactions, unmistakeably on display in Tahrir Square, producing what I call “ethics of companionship.” These ethics can be reformulated and practiced in manner attuned to both self and other, and adapted to the specific needs and injustices of the world around us. An ethics of companionship is responsive and open for negotiation and persuasion, and above all, it makes an art out of our living together.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise étudie l’enfermement des personnages féminins dans le cinéma tunisien, sur une période allant des années 1990 à aujourd’hui. La notion d’enfermement permet d’articuler les relations de pouvoir à une dimension spatiale, tout en intégrant un rapport au temps et au corps. Pour cela, nous avons choisi un corpus composé de quatre long-métrages de fiction, tous réalisés par des cinéastes femmes : Les Silences du Palais (Moufida Tlatli, 1994), Bedwin Hacker (Nadia El Fani, 2002), Les Secrets (Raja Amari, 2009) et La Belle et la Meute (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2017). Nous pensons que ces films s’inscrivent dans une tradition cinématographique tunisienne féminine autour des oppressions subies par les femmes et leur désir d’émancipation. Cependant, nous observons des variations dans la manière dont est figuré l’enfermement des héroïnes. Cela passe notamment par la mise en scène ainsi que par le discours porté par les réalisatrices au sujet des personnages féminins et de leur émancipation. Ce corpus explore différentes échelles d’espace (domestique, public, global et virtuel) et montre diverses oppressions auxquelles les héroïnes font face. Nous commençons d’abord par étudier l’enfermement des personnages féminins à l’intérieur d’un espace domestique, en nous appuyant sur les notions d’hétérotopie et de harem. Ensuite, nous abordons la sortie de ces lieux et l’investissement d’espaces publics pour nous intéresser à la dimension plus institutionnelle de l’enfermement. Enfin, nous analysons la possibilité de dépasser cet enfermement afin de porter un discours d’émancipation. / This master’s thesis examines the imprisonment of female characters in Tunisian cinema from the 1990 until today. The notion of imprisonment articulates relations of power within a spatial dimension, while integrating the temporal and corporal dimension. For this, we chose a corpus of four long-feature films directed by women: The Silences of the Palace (Moufida Tlatli, 1994), Bedwin Hacker (Nadia El Fani, 2002), Burried Secrets (Raja Amari, 2009) and Beauty and the Dogs (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2017). We think those movies are part of a female Tunisian cinematographic tradition dealing with oppressions felt by women and their desire for emancipation. However, we observe some variations in the way the heroines’ imprisonment is shown. This is emphasized by the mise en scène and the discourse of the directors about female characters and their emancipation. This corpus explores different spatial scales (domestic, public, global and virtual) and shows the diversity of oppression faced by the heroines. To begin with, we study the imprisonment of female characters in a domestic space, employing the notions of heterotopia and harem. Then, we examine the exit of those spaces and the occupation of public spaces to explore the institutional dimension of imprisonment. Finally, we analyze the possibility of overcoming this imprisonment in order to hold a discourse of emancipation.

The aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between R2P and violent regime change. The work gives an overview of the establishment of R2P on the international scene, and then deals with its problem of selectivity in its application in practice. Despite the formal adoption of R2P in 2005 by all UN member states, R2P has been since then applied to similar cases of humanitarian crises in different ways. The problem of selectivity of R2P is fuelling the criticism of its legitimacy, because it is according to many a mean for achieving regime change. The most important reason for R2P's criticism is the connection between R2P and violent regime change, and that is the central theme of this work. Based on an analysis of the documents which form R2P, the work concludes that military intervention under R2P must not be deliberately used for regime change. However, there may be situations, when regime change is necessary for the protection of civilians; which means that regime change can be regarded as legitimate only if it is as an indirect result of the intervention. Therefore regime change is an integral part of R2P. The work aims to explore this ambivalent relationship and find out, where lies the boundary between legitimate overthrowing of a régime for the protection of civilians, and regime...

Ce travail de recherche a pour objectif d’analyser les différentes initiatives de partenariat liant les pays méditerranéens avec l’UE, ainsi que l’élucidation des différents degrés d’engagement et d'implication de ces pays et sous-groupements régionaux dans ces initiatives. Il vise également à dévoiler les différents atouts et faiblesses qui caractérisent les relations Euro-méditerranéennes. La finalité de ce travail de recherche consiste à éclaircir les enjeux de ces relations et la justification de l’utilité de rapprochement entre les pays Sud-méditerranéens avec l’UE dans un espace géographique restreint et dans un cadre historique limité. Ainsi, cette analyse s’est focalisée sur les différents atouts politiques, économiques et sociaux ayant marqué les relations euro-méditerranéennes, durant la période allant de la Chute du Mur de Berlin (1989) jusqu'à l'échec du Printemps Arabe (2013). A l’issue de cette thèse, plusieurs alternatives et pistes de réflexion ont été suggérées, dans la perspective d’éviter les raisons d’échecs déjà constatées et afin de contribuer à l’édification de fondements solides susceptibles de concourir à la réussite des futurs partenariats et initiatives de coopérations euro-méditerranéennes. / This thesis is attempting to analyze the various partnership initiatives between the Mediterranean countries and the EU, as well as the different degrees of commitment and involvement of these countries and sub-regional groupings in these initiatives.It also aims at revealing the different strengths and weaknesses that characterize the Euro-Mediterranean relations.The purpose of this research work is to analyze the issues of the Euromed relationships and the size of building links between the Mediterranean countries and the EU in geographically restricted space and during a limited historical period. This analysis has focused on the different political assets, economic and social issues which characterized the Euro-Mediterranean relationships, especially in the period from the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) until the failure of the Arab Spring (2013). Following this work, several alternatives and ideas have been suggested, with a view to avoiding the failure of stakes already recognized.The objective is to contribute to analysis of creating new strong frameworks which may contribute to the success of the future partnerships and initiatives in relation to the euro- Mediterranean cooperation.

The diploma thesis named British reaction to the Arab Spring events in the context of United Kingdom's relations with Persian Gulf countries is concerned with an impact of the revolutionary events of 2011, known as the Arab Spring, on bilateral cooperation between United Kingdom on one side and Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman on the other. While using quantitative analysis approach, it depicts how the Persian Gulf developments were reflected by prominent British representatives and members of the Cameron coalition government. Since the government promised to approach foreign policy matters through a liberal-conservative lens and also planned to further deepen its relations with Persian Gulf countries, the Arab Spring events can be interpreted as a clear dilemma for British policymakers. This thesis aims to answer whether such dilemma forced the government officials to re-asses the traditionally warm attitudes towards Persian Gulf and additionally, it demonstrates which spheres of their cooperation were threatened the most. Firstly, the bilateral relations between United Kingdom and Persian Gulf countries between 1971 and 2010 are described. Then, the focus moves towards the Cameron coalition government and its foreign- policy aims. In its final part, the thesis focuses on British...

The aim of this master thesis is to analyze political regime of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and to find out some possible effects, which could have had an influence on its stability and survival in the last 25 years. The Jordanian political regime had gone through several crises in the examined years. Not only did it survive all of them but also became stronger. Which factors caused the survival of the regime? In the first part of the thesis we typologize the regime from three possible perspectives (institutional, formalistic and legitimation). The second part deals with an analysis of factors, which enable the survival of Jordanian political regime. The emphasis is given on the role of institutions.

Examining any topic in the Middle East requires a general knowledge because of the region's complexity and dynamics. Important characteristics is the link of Islam and politics, because this relation shaped political establishment of states. The strategic location and rich natural resources of this part of the world were tempting also for the global superpowers whose engagement divided the Middle Eastern states, particularly during the Cold War. An analysis of the factors and events that led to the formation of alliances and rivalries in the Middle East is the goal of this work. Research will focus on alliances of Iran and its Shia allies on the one hand and Saudi Arabia with the rest of Sunni monarchies on the other. Unlike other alliances mentioned in the work, these two blocks have long term character. They are also specific because of sectarian differences, their stance towards the United States and Israel and shared responses to emerging threats. Historical development of Middle Eastern alliances begins with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, continues with the both World wars, the Israeli-Arab conflict, the Islamic revolution in Iran and other milestones which were meaningful in shaping inter-state relations in the region. The modern period moves from invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to...

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