Poverty is an event in time. Only dynamic thinking can fully capture its reality. This thesis contends that human rights case law is based on a static perception of poverty inconsistent with the dynamic perception of poverty in economics. Failing to notice its temporal aspects, the examined courts consequently produce judgments that overlook essential aspects of this socio-economic phenomenon. This is puzzling, since in other contexts of constitutional human rights adjudication the passage of time bears a significant role. This means that for courts to switch from a static perspective to a dynamic perspective of poverty does not require new legal tools. The duration of poverty and change in poverty can be incorporated into judicial thinking using familiar norms and doctrines. The extent of poverty, whether it is transitory or a long-term situation, the chances of escaping it in the near future, the fluctuations in depth of poverty over the years, the probability that upon emerging from poverty one will be caught up in it again, the inheritance of poverty from parents to children: these are all time-related concerns that bear profound significance on the lives of poor people. A static examination not only overlooks these issues, but also neglects the essence of long-term poverty. Viewing poverty through the lens of time would reveal a broader and more complex human rights picture, producing a richer legal analysis, and, finally, leading to a more suitable remedy. This study examines cases that consider claims relating to the economic situation of poor people, concentrating on examples from France, Canada and Israel. The analysis reveals the temporal approach of each judgment and suggests an alternative, dynamic reading of poverty.

Cette thèse, basée sur une approche qualitative, étudie les dynamiques de la pauvreté dans la campagne égyptienne à travers le cas du village de Nazlet Salmân (gouvernorat d’Assiout, Haute Égypte). L’objectif était de comprendre la nature de ces dynamiques au niveau du groupe domestique, et d’analyser les dynamiques et les changements à plusieurs échelles (macro et micro). Le cadre théorique choisi est la construction sociale de la pauvreté. L'étude a démontré que l'identification et la définition, par les villageois, de « celui qui est pauvre » et « celui qui ne l’est pas », est constitué principalement en fonction des considérations locales, selon un ensemble de critères liés à l'accès aux ressources, aux revenus, aux dépenses et au statut social. En face, le concept de pauvreté adopté par l'État est défectueux, et malgré sa correspondance avec le concept local sur le revenu, il ne tient pas compte des ressources et se limite uniquement à la « pauvreté extrême ». La principale finalité recherchée par les pauvres est de parvenir à la « sécurité sociale », en s’appuyant sur des stratégies multiples, fondées sur la diversification des sources de revenus et d'emplois dans l'agriculture et hors agriculture, par l’émigration de travail, par l'exploitation des individus et des ressources de la famille. A chaque fois que la possession de terre disparait ou diminue pour une famille, l’instabilité et l’insécurité sociale s’accroissent. L'État a joué un rôle majeur dans l'appauvrissement des paysans à travers des politiques agricoles et des conceptions du développement qui ne correspondent pas aux besoins et aux désirs des pauvres. / This thesis is based on a qualitative approach to study the dynamic of poverty in the egyptian countryside, through the case study of the village of Nazlet Salmân, located in the Asyut governorate, in Upper Egypt. This study was initially aimed at understanding the nature of the dynamic of poverty at the level of the domestic group, and analyzed these dynamics or changes on a variety of scales (micro and macro). For this study, the social construction of poverty has been used as the theoretical framework. The study showed that the concept of poverty among the village poor is mainly based on local considerations that play a key role in the “identification and definition” of the one who is poor and the one who is not, according to a set of criteria based on the evaluation of access to resources, income, expenditure and social status. Also, the concept adopted by the State is defective, and despite the intersection with the local concept of “income”, it does not include resources, but is limited only to “extreme poverty”. The main objective sought by the poor is to achieve social stability and security. In fact it relies on multiple strategies based on the diversification of means of income and employment inside and outside the agricultural sector, the labour migration, the exploitation of both the individuals and the family resources to achieve it. Each time a family’s land disappears or diminishes, this family experiences more social instability and insecurity. The study has shown also the role the state played in the peasant’s impoverishment through its agricultural politics and its vision of development which did not meet the poor’s needs and desires.