This study aims at ascertaining via a cross-country/cross-city comparison why different national contexts characterized by allegedly opposite ideologies concerning the incorporation of immigrants (namely, the British Race Relations/multicultural model and French republicanism) have led to the adoption of similar policy tools in the prevention of forced unions amongst young people of ethnic minority background. In order to do so, the study will examine French republican and British multicultural rhetoric and policies aimed at the prevention of forced marriage at different institutional levels, with a focus on the preventive role played by the educational sector and within a historical institutionalist theoretical framework. The comparison begins with a consideration of French and British national rhetoric and policies against forced marriage from 1997 to 2008 to develop an adequate framework for the analysis of the preventive role attributed to educational policies in four major localities (the capital cities, Paris and London, and the second two largest cities per population size, Lyon and Birmingham). Despite differences in the policies and rhetoric adopted by multicultural Britain and republican France to tackle forced unions, the study hypothesizes a common trend in the ways French and British public authorities conceptualize the practice of forced marriage - intended mainly as the product of cultural difference. Similarities in the conceptualization of the practice, in turn, have contributed to the identification of similar policy tools despite dissimilar institutional contexts. Such a hypothesis contrasts with one of the key claims of historical institutionalism, according to which dissimilar institutions lead to different policy outcomes across different countries. The study will introduce the role of ideas – in the form of frames (Bleich 2003) – as a tool to explain the reasons why French and British policies aimed at the prevention of forced unions have led to similar policy outcomes despite dissimilar institutional contexts.

Le problème de ma recherche se pose ainsi : comment le droit pénal et lapolitique criminelle dans les sociétés multiculturelles et démocratiques doivent-ils réagirface aux délits culturellement motivés, commis par les immigrés -ou de leurs descendants?La dissertation analyse des réponses de la justice pénale des pays occidentaux déterminésface aux trois tipes soi-disant pratiques culturelles néfastes aux femmes qui constituent lesexemples des conflits des cultures.Tout d’abord j’analyse comment les pays européens ont réagi aux suivantes pratiquescontroverses : la violence liée a l’honneur, les mutilations sexuelles féminines et mariagesforcés. Ensuite, je présente le concept de la défense par la culture, caractéristique pour lesystème common law. C’est une stratégie de la défense pour les accusés des délitsculturellement motivés. Enfin, j’étudie les contextes et réponses différentes aux délitsculturellement motivés en l’Europe et aux Etats Unis et aussi la dimension internationale duproblème. Je finalise ma dissertation avec une conclusion que le système de droit pénal etla justice dans les pays démocratiques libéraux et multiculturels doivent être un garant de lavalidité de consensus de la protection égale et non-discriminatoire des valeursfondamentales pour tous les membres de la société sans égard a leur genre ou l’ethnicité. / The main research problem is how penal law and criminal policy inmulticultural and liberal states should react on culturally motivated crimes committed byimmigrants. The dissertation analyses the criminal justice responses of certain westerncountries to three types of so-called harmful traditional practices, which are fine examples ofconflict of cultures. Firstly, I analyse how European countries addressed following harmfultraditional practices: ‘honour’-related violence, female genital mutilation and forcedmarriages. Secondly, I present the concept of cultural defence, generic for common law,which is a strategy of defence for offenders for culturally motivated crimes. Thirdly, I studythe different contexts and responses to culturally motivated crimes in Europe and UnitedStates, so the international dimension of the problem. Finally, I culminate my dissertationwith the conclusion that criminal law and criminal justice in democratic liberal andmulticultural states should be a guarantor of the validity of consensus for equal and nondiscriminatoryprotection of basic values for all members of society regardless their ethnicorigin or gender.