Denna avhandling är en komparativ undersökning av pågående förändringsprocesser bland kurder i Marseillesregionen i Frankrike och Stockholmsregionen i Sverige. I fokus står skiftet från en endimensionell och offerrelaterad kurdisk diasporisk identitet mot en mer sammansatt och aktiv. Studien går bortom entydiga erfarenheter av smärta, trauma och offerkänsla i syfte att lyfta fram en rad andra diasporiska situationer och företeelser såsom institutionella och transnationella formationer, assabiyya nätverk, ”on air” och ”online” verksamheter, kulturella och litterära aktiviteter osv., som samtliga är centrala element när det gäller att upprätthålla ett gränsöverskridande medborgarskap bland diasporiska kurder i de bägge länderna. Studien vidhåller dessutom att kurder i både Sverige och Frankrike på olika sätt är utsatta för diskriminering och socialt utanförskap. Avhandlingen visar hur kurder i Frankrike och Sverige utvecklar olika diasporiska diskurser och handlingsmönster. Beroende på en relativt likartad social bakgrund och på den exkluderande politiska miljö som finns i Frankrike så upprätthåller kurderna i Marseillesområdet en påtagligt offerrelaterad diasporisk diskurs. Samtidigt är framväxten av ett gränsöverskridande medborgarskap här starkt begränsad. Eftersom kurderna i Sverige är dels jämförelsevis socialt och politiskt diversifierade och dels vistas i en mer gynnsam politisk miljö upprätthåller de inte bara en mer flexibel diasporisk diskurs än kurder i Marseillesområdet. De har också utvecklat ett mer långtgående gränsöverskridande medborgarskap. / This study is a comparative exploration of an ongoing process of change from a mono-dimensional, victim-related Kurdish diasporic identity to a more modulated, dynamic and active form of it among Kurds in the Marseille region in France and the Stockholm region in Sweden. The study goes beyond the experience of pain and trauma and the sense of victimhood in order to depict a multitude of other diasporic situations and trajectories such as institutional and transnational arrangements, assabiyya networks, “on air” and cyberspace “online” involvements, cultural and literary activities, and so forth, which are necessary elements for the development of the practice of transborder citizenship among diasporan Kurds in the two countries. The study argues that the Kurds in France and Sweden have conceived different diasporic discourses and at the same time have chosen different modes of action. Due to their uniform social background and the exclusionary French political environment, the Kurds in the region of Marseille maintain a tangible victim diaspora discourse and limited practice of transborder citizenship. As the Kurds in Sweden are socially and politically diversified, and as they live in the more favorable Swedish political environment, they maintain not only a flexible diaspora discourse but also a more highly developed practice of transborder citizenship than the Kurds in the Marseille region.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the construction of a historical event in late medieval chronicles, in a way that increases our understanding of the mechanisms behind historiography. The analysis is based on how the coronation of Pope Clement V in 1305 and the accident which then took place, in which a wall crashed and killed a number of people, is depicted in a selection of 14th century chronicles, mainly from France. This event has been largely overlooked by previous research on Clement V and the Avignon Papacy, which has tended to emphasise its meaning as a bad omen for the pope. Through a close reading of the chronicles inspired by a comparative methodological approach and the theoretical framework of Suzanne Fleischman this thesis proves that the French chronicles do not give much actual support for the interpretation of the accident as a bad omen and that the event occurs in multiple versions, which can be explained by the chroniclers’ different attitudes towards the alliance between Pope Clement and King Philip the Fair of France. The different versions are dependent on the texts’ contrasting aims and uses of narratives and facts, and is ultimately defined by the communicative situation between writer and reader.

The essay analyzes the final series of work by the French postmodern artist Yves Klein. The Fire paintings were created in 1961-1962 during a performance at the research laboratory of the National Gaswork of France, located outside Paris. Klein used a two-meter-long gas pipe to spray fire on wet canvas and damped Swedish cardboard to create an abstract, minimalistic body of work. The founder of Nouveau Réalisme Klein took traces of fire through a canvas and created a series including more than 150 oeuvres. In this research, semiotic philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce's method has been applied to analyze 23 selected artworks that devise the incarnation of the myth through five different analysis theories: fire, the creation, universe, man, and passion. Through layers of conceptual ideas, the research shows that Klein's body of work is more mystical than rational, just like the artist's personality. The analyst concludes that the 23 selected Fire paintings are constructed with ambiguous philosophical questions about existence and invoke our imagination with inspiration from alchemy. As in the Nouveau Réalisme manifesto, the essence of the paintings was to create traces of life. The research substantiates that the conceptual series of oeuvre represents the creation of life and universe, as the end of our physical life marks the beginning of our reincarnation. The inspiration for the Fire paintings came from Catholicism, Rosicrusian Order, spiritualism, judo, alchemy, and contemporary historical situations and science during 1950-1960.

As demographic and economic contexts have shifted, the need for pension systems to reform has increased. Often, however, these systems have proved difficult to change – especially in continental Europe. Despite this, Germany, by many considered particularly reform resistant, succeeded in reforming its pension system; while France, with its strong executive power, has not. As research has yet to find a consensus on what factors makes welfare retrenchment possible, this field requires more attention. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to analyse the developments of the German and French pension systems, from 1990-2010, and to unearth what factors made successful reform possible in Germany while it failed in France. Using a comparative case study, all major pension reforms in the two countries during the time period, are analysed from four institutionalist perspectives. The results point to three main factors explaining Germany’s successful reform. Firstly, the shock brought on by the reunification of East and West Germany forced politicians to act. France on the other hand, experienced no such shock. Secondly, the subduing of the unions removed the main veto player against reform. In contrast, the French unions, whose political power lies in their ability to call for manifestations and shift public opinion, could not be outflanked. Lastly, the new liberal ideas that permeated German politics around the turn of the century provided a locus for change that was lacking in France. These results suggest the importance of external pressure, veto players and ideational factors to major welfare reform.

The operation of electric grids depends on the balance between the electric generation and the demand. In France, the Transmission System Operator, RTE, is responsible for the stability and the security of the grid. Today, the electric generation follows the variations of the demand. However, environmental concerns prompt to develop new strategies and policies for Energy Transition. The development of Smart Grids, the uncertain future of nuclear generation, the massive integration of renewable sources are the focus of those. Furthermore, renewable energies generation is intermittent and can not be controlled. The current strategy for the balance between generation and demand is challenged. The electric grid has to be readjusted by adding more electric flexibility to ensure its stability. The electric flexibility is usually associated to storage technologies as batteries or pumping stations. A state of art review is used to define this notion and to evaluate the technological and economic maturity of different electric flexibility vectors. The following report is based on a selection of prospective scenarios, development plans already launched in France, proposing a significant share of renewable energies in a future energy mix and current French energy data. Two studies were carried out : one at a regional level, for Bretagne and one at national level for France. An evaluation at 2050 is carried out to determine the load factors of intermittent energies, consumption and residual demand in Bretagne. On the basis of these prospective estimates, a need for electric flexibility can be determined for the Bretagne region. This first study highlights an issue related to future needs for electric flexibility. However, since the balance between production and consumption is achieved at a national level, a second study on France is necessary. The French need for electric flexibility is then estimated through a linear optimization that evaluates the energy production required to achieve a generation/consumption balance taking into account energy sources merit order. / Det franska elnätets funktion beror på balansen mellan elproduktionen och efterfrågan. Transmissionssystemoperatören, RTE, ansvarar för nätets stabilitet och säkerhet. Idag följer den elektriska generationen variationerna i efterfrågan. Miljömässiga frågor är emellertid snabba för att utveckla nya strategier och strategier för energiövergång. Utvecklingen av Smart Grids, den osäkra framtiden för kärnkraftsproduktion, den massiva integrationen av förnybara källor är deras fokus. Vidare är generering av förnybara energikällor intermittent och kan inte kontrolleras. Den nuvarande strategin för balans mellan produktion och efterfrågan utmanas. Elnätet måste justeras genom att lägga till mer elektrisk flexibilitet för att säkerställa stabiliteten. Den elektriska flexibiliteten är vanligtvis förknippad med lagringsteknik som batterier eller pumpstationer. En allmänt erkända tekniska används för att definiera denna uppfattning och att utvärdera den tekniska och ekonomiska mognaden hos olika elektriska flexibilitetsvektorer. Följande undersökningar grundar sig på ett urval av framtida scenarier, utvecklingsplaner som redan lanserats i Frankrike, och föreslår en betydande andel förnybara energikällor i en framtida energimix och nuvarande franska energidata. Två studier utfördes på olika perimetrar: på Bretagne-regionen och i Frankrike. En utvärdering vid 2050 utförs för att bestämma belastningsfaktorerna för intermittent energi, förbrukning och återstående efterfrågan i Bretagne. På grundval av dessa framtida uppskattningar kan ett behov av elektrisk flexibilitet bestämmas för Bretagne-regionen. Denna första studie lyfter fram ett problem som rör framtida behov av elektrisk flexibilitet. Men eftersom balansen mellan produktion och konsumtion uppnås på nationell nivå krävs en andra studie om Frankrike. Det franska behovet av elektrisk flexibilitet uppskattas sedan genom en linjär optimering som utvärderar den energiproduktion som krävs för att uppnå en generation / konsumtionsbalans med hänsyn tagen till energikällans meriteringsordning. / Le fonctionnement du réseau électrique français repose sur l’équilibre entre la production et la consommation d’électricité. Le gestionnaire du réseau de transport, RTE, est responsable de la stabilité et de la sécurité du réseau. Aujourd’hui, la production électrique s’adapte aux variations de la consommation. Cependant, des préoccupations environnementales incitent à la mise en place de nouvelles stratégies et politiques pour la transition énergétique. Le développement d’un réseau intelligent, l’avenir incertain du nucléaire et l’intégration massive d’énergies renouvelables sont au centre de celles-ci. De plus, la production électrique des énergies renouvelables s’avère intermittente et fatale. La stratégie actuelle du maintien de l’équilibre production/consommation est remise en question. Le système électrique doit être repensé en y intégrant plus de flexibilité électrique pour en garantir la stabilité. La flexibilité électrique est usuellement associée aux technologies de stockage comme les batteries électrochimiques et les STEP hydrauliques. Un état de l’art permet de définir précisément cette notion et d’évaluer la maturité technologique et économique en France de ces différents vecteurs de flexibilité électrique. L’objet des recherches suivantes est basé sur une sélection de scénarios prospectifs, de plans de développement d’ores et déjà lancés en France, proposant une part importante d’énergies renouvelables dans un futur mix énergétique et des données énergétiques actuelles françaises. Deux études ont été menées sur différents périmètres : sur la région Bretagne et sur la France entière. Une évaluation à 2050 est effectuée pour déterminer facteurs de charge des énergies intermittentes, consommation et demande résiduelle en Bretagne. A partir de ces estimations prospectives, un besoin en flexibilité peut être déterminé sur le périmètre de la Bretagne. Cette première étude permet de mettre en exergue une problématique liée aux futurs besoins de flexibilité électrique. Cependant, l’équilibre entre production et consommation étant réalisé à un niveau national, une seconde étude sur le périmètre français est nécessaire. Le besoin français en flexibilité est alors estimé par le biais d’une optimisation linéaire qui évalue la production énergétique nécessaire pour obtenir un équilibre production/consommation en tenant compte de la préséance économique.