La concession des services d'eau et assainissement gérée par l'entreprise privée Aguas Argentinas S. A. entre 1993 et 2006 a fait l’objet de nombreuses études et recherches qui ont mis l'accent sur la dynamique des privatisations menées en Argentine dans les années quatre-vingt-dix. Cependant, bien qu’il s'agisse d'une période de changements dans la gestion des services urbains, la concession a mis en lumière certaines constantes qui structurent la relation entre les réseaux métropolitains et l'action publique locale. Cette recherche est basée sur les interactions entre les réseaux techniques et les territoires. L’analyse met tout particulièrement l’accent sur les continuités et les ruptures des opérations du concessionnaire dans l'aire métropolitaine de Buenos Aires. L’objectif de cette thèse est de répondre à ce questionnement à travers une analyse comparée des scénarios d'interaction entre la gestion centralisée des réseaux et l'action publique locale dans trois communes en aval du bassin du fleuve Reconquista: General San Martín, San Fernando et Tigre. Ces études de cas mettent en évidence, dans des contextes hétérogènes, la versatilité d'Aguas Argentinas face aux capacités de l'action publique locale pour mettre en œuvre la concession avec un certain degré d'autonomie. Une lecture transversale de ces spécificités locales révèle également la construction de processus de regroupement d'intérêts communs entre les différentes communes. Ce double mouvement d'autonomie et d'association, permet de mieux éclairer les oscillations entre le public et le privé, le sectoriel et le territorial, ainsi qu’entre le local et le central qui se développent selon un processus de territorialisation croissante dans l'accès aux services des eaux et assainissement. / The concession of water and sewerage, operated by the private company Aguas Argentinas between 1993 and 2006, was subject of numerous researches which emphasized the dynamics of privatization led in Argentina, in the nineties. However, although this was a turning point in the management of urban services, the concession revealed some constants that structured the relationship between metropolitan networks and local public action.This research examines the interactions between the technical networks and the territories. The analysis focuses on the continuities and ruptures of the operation of the concessionaire in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. In order to answer that enquiry, this thesis develops an analysis compared by the interaction scenarios between centralized network management and local public action in three municipalities -General San Martin, San Fernando and Tigre- that form part of the lower basin of the Reconquista River.These cases studies highlight the versatility of Aguas Argentinas, in very heterogeneous contexts against different capabilities from the local public action to implement the concession with some degree of autonomy. Also, a cross reading of these local variations reveals the construction of the strategies of aggregation of interests between municipalities. This double movement, of autonomy and association, allows to illuminate the oscillations between the public and the private, the sectorial and the territorial, the local and the central (national and global), which take place in a process of increasing territorialization of access to water services and sewerage. / El ciclo de la concesión de los servicios de agua y desagüe cloacal, operada por la empresa privada Aguas Argentinas entre 1993 y 2006, fue objeto de numerosos estudios que la asociaron con la dinámica de las privatizaciones, propias de la década del noventa en Argentina. No obstante, si bien se trató de un momento de cambio en la gestión de los servicios urbanos, la concesión fue al mismo tiempo reveladora de algunas regularidades que estructuraban la relación entre las redes metropolitanas y la acción política local. Esta tesis se propone examinar las relaciones de mutua transformación que se establecen entre las redes técnicas y los territorios, centrando el análisis en las continuidades y rupturas que resultan de la formas de operar de la empresa concesionaria en el área metropolitana de Buenos Aires. Para dar cuenta de esa problemática, se efectúa un análisis comparado de los escenarios de interacción que se dirimen entre la gestión centralizada de las redes y la acción pública local en tres municipios -General San Martín, San Fernando y Tigre- que forman parte de la cuenca baja del río Reconquista. Los casos de estudio ponen en evidencia, en contextos heterogéneos, la versatilidad de la actuación de Aguas Argentinas frente a las capacidades de la acción pública local para implementar la concesión con cierto grado de autonomía. Una lectura transversal de esas variaciones locales revela asimismo, la construcción de procesos de agregación de intereses entre los municipios. Este doble movimiento, de autonomía y asociación, permite iluminar las oscilaciones entre lo público y lo privado, lo sectorial y lo territorial, lo local y lo central que se juegan en la creciente territorialización del acceso a los servicios de agua y desagüe cloacal.

Since the creation of modern-day Iraq by the British Empire in 1920, the country’s state territorial structuring has been an ever-evolving source of political instability and conflict. Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian groups have been locked in a near constant struggle over questions of self-rule, shared rule, and secession. Consequently, the territorial model of federalism has never been far from political discussions, negotiations, and territorial disputes. Federalism was finally officially adopted in 2005, giving a new definition to Iraq’s territorial model. But while federalism seemed a natural means of managing Iraq’s long-standing ethno-sectarian divisions and was democratically ratified in a process that included most ethnic and sectarian groups, the model has failed to materialize, and territorial structure remains a major point of contention between the groups. The overarching aim of this dissertation is to shed light on two key questions. First, how have the dynamics between the major ethnic and sectarian groups of Iraq shaped the evolution of the country’s territorial structure from 1920 up to and beyond the federal constitution in 2005? Second, what can the trajectory of this evolution teach us about why federalism was adopted but has failed to materialize? I shall argue that Iraq’s territorial structuring over the past century has been systematically influenced by at least one of four “I”s: the groups’ ideas concerning territorial structuring, their conceptualizations of group identities, their definitions of group interests, and the influence of foreign actors. Focussing on the Shiite Arabs, the Sunni Arabs, and the Kurds, I will examine how these four factors have interacted to shape the territorial organization of Iraq over four key time periods: (i) the foundation of Iraq in 1920 to Saddam Hussein’s rise to the presidency in 1979, (ii) Saddam’s rule from 1979 to 2003, (iii) Saddam’s deposition in 2003 to the adoption of the federal constitution in 2005, and (iv) the post-constitutional period from 2005 to the present. I thus hope to explain how evolving inter-group dynamics over the past century have impacted the development of Iraq’s territorial structure, arguing that this sheds light on both the reference to federalism in the 2005 constitution and its subsequent failure to materialize. This dissertation thus demonstrates the powerful ways in which Iraq’s territorial structuring has been shaped by past trends in ethno-sectarian dynamics, putting us in a better position to understand the complexities of the country’s current territorial politics.