En France, le problème des déchets radioactifs a fait l’objet de différentes prises en charge. La gestion de ces déchets a été singularisée et confiée à un opérateur spécialisé, l’Agence Nationale pour la gestion des Déchets Radioactifs, l’Andra, créée en 1979 pour stocker ces déchets. Mais l’Andra a rencontré des difficultés pour réaliser des projets de stockage régulièrement contestés. Aujourd’hui encore, alors que son projet de stockage géologique entre en phase de réalisation, elle fait l’objet de critiques, cristallisant des rapports de force traversant l’ensemble du secteur nucléaire. Pour retracer les évolutions de cette gestion depuis les années 1950, l’étude du travail organisationnel permet d’appréhender de l’intérieur comment les agents définissent les problèmes, conçoivent et réalisent des solutions. A travers ce travail stratégique et politique, ils transforment régulièrement l’Agence en fonction du déroulement de ses projets : filiale industrielle du CEA, elle est transformée en agence de recherche finalisée, puis à nouveau en opérateur industriel pour réaliser le stockage géologique. Ces changements permettent aux acteurs de relancer des projets critiqués, sans forcément en modifier le contenu : ce n’est pas l’inertie mais la flexibilité organisationnelle et institutionnelle qui permet d’expliquer le maintien de solutions contestées. Enfin, le problème des déchets cristallise une multiplicité de logiques temporelles. L’analyse du travail de temporalisation de l’action, comme forme particulière d’organisation, permet d’interroger l’articulation entre changement et verrouillage de l’action publique. Ainsi notre étude porte sur le lien entre définition d’un problème, construction de solutions irréversibles, travail organisationnel et temporel. / In France, the problem of radioactive waste has been subjected to different solutions. In 1979, the storage of radioactive waste was entrusted to a specialized operator, the National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (Andra). Yet, through the course of its history, the Agency has faced many difficulties to implement its projects, which often came under strong public criticism. Still today, while its project of geological disposal is about to move into its industrial phase, the Andra is still widely criticized and serves as a crystallization point for power relationships in the nuclear sector. In order to retrace the evolution of French radioactive waste management since the 1950s, the archival and ethnographical study of the Andra’s organizational work provides an insider perspective on how its agents have defined problems, as well as conceived and implemented solutions. Indeed, through this strategic and political work, they have frequently transformed the Agency to fit the progress of its projects. From an industrial subsidiary of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the Agency was transformed into a finalized research agency, then again into an industrial operator in order to undertake to construction the geological disposal site. Through to these changes, actors have been able to revived criticized projects, without necessarily modifying their contents. In fact, it is not stability but organizational and institutional flexibility, which can account for the preservation of these controversial solutions. Lastly, the problem of radioactive waste crystallizes a multiplicity of temporal logics. The analysis of this work of temporalisation, which can be seen as a particular kind of organization, questions the articulation between change and permanency of public action. As such, this study sheds light on the relation between dynamics of problem definition, the construction of irreversible technical solutions, and organizational and temporal work.

Canada’s official languages policy makes English and French the country’s official languages in federal institutions. The policy has succeeded in fostering equitable representation of both official languages groups in the federal public service and has improved capacities for the public service to serve the citizenry in its official language of choice. It is a puzzle however, that despite these advances, the Canadian federal public service continues to operate predominantly in English when both official languages on paper are equal languages of work. To explore this puzzle this dissertation asks: why, despite the promise of the Official Languages Act (OLA) 1969 for choice in language of work and the OLA 1988 that made the choice a claimable right, is there inequitable access to French as a language of work in the federal public service? Framed through a historical institutionalist approach and layering, this project analyzes the implementation of the official languages program in the federal public service from 1967-2013. This thesis argues that the implementation of the official languages program could not challenge the federal public service’s path dependency to operate predominantly in English. By analyzing the roles of actors and institutions that influenced the process, this dissertation finds that lack of structural change, inadequate managerial engagement and a false sense that official languages are engrained in the public service, can explain the persistence of English as the dominant language of work.

Les relations internationales sont aujourd’hui confrontées à un mouvement en faveur dela démocratisation de leurs espaces décisionnels. Les parlementaires deviennentprogressivement des acteurs clés dans ce scénario, organisant des forums transnationauxde délibération qui prétendent influencer l’action gouvernementale dans diversdomaines. Ce phénomène touche aussi les intégrations régionales, dont l’Unioneuropéenne et son parlement co-législateur constituent le cas le plus remarquable. Àl’inverse, en Amérique latine, la tradition présidentialiste et le caractèreintergouvernemental des initiatives régionales ont toujours confiné les parlementaires àun rôle secondaire. Pourtant, contre toute attente, un parlement a été créé au sein duMercosur en 2006. Comment expliquer un tel choix institutionnel ? Cette thèse sepropose d’analyser les raisons de la création du Parlement du Mercosur (Parlasur) audelàdes discours officiels. Pour ce faire, on mobilise l’ensemble théorique des « troisi », selon lequel des déterminants découlant des institutions, des intérêts et des idéesjouent un rôle conjoint dans l’action politique. Ces facteurs sont mis en perspective àl’aide des théories de l’action publique, qui soulignent le rôle de la temporalité, descoalitions de cause et de l’inspiration des modèles déjà existants dans le changementinstitutionnel. Ce cadre théorique est ensuite appliqué à l’examen des quatre périodesfondamentales de la construction du Parlasur : le développement institutionnel del’ancienne Commission parlementaire conjointe ; la montée en puissance des relationsentre le Mercosur et l’Union européenne et le transfert de mécanismes d’intégration ; lemoment critique correspondant à la confrontation de la Zone de libre-échange desAmériques aux nouvelles idéologies gouvernantes ; enfin, la difficileinstitutionnalisation du nouveau parlement. Cette analyse chrono-thématique estorientée empiriquement par l’objectif de tracer le parcours des variables explicativesdans le processus institutionnel, sur la base d’entretiens semi-directifs et d’observationsconduites au Mercosur et en Europe. / Recently, some movements have been calling for the democratization of decisionmakingspaces in international relations. Members of parliament have progressivelybecome key actors in this scenario, organizing transnational deliberative forumsintended to influence several domains of governmental action. This is also occurring atthe regional integration level, with the European Union and its co-legislative parliamentas the most prominent examples. In Latin America, on the other hand, the presidentialtradition and intergovernmental character of regional initiatives have always relegatedmembers of parliament to a secondary position. However, against all expectations, aparliament was created in Mercosur in 2006. How can this institutional choice beexplained? This dissertation aims to analyze the reasons for the creation of the MercosurParliament (Parlasur) beyond the official discourse. In order to do so, it explores thecombination of institutions, interests and ideas in determining political action. Thesefactors are contextualized through policy process theories, which underline the role oftiming, advocacy coalitions and inspiration in existing models in institutional change.This theoretical framework is then applied to the study of the four fundamental stages ofthe Parlasur building: the institutional development of the former ParliamentaryCommission; the relations between the Mercosur and the European Union and thetransfer of integration mechanisms; the critical moment when the Free Trade Area ofthe Americas was confronted by the new governmental ideologies; and the difficultinstitutionalization process that is being faced by the new parliament. This chronothematicanalysis is intended to trace the path of explanatory variables in thisinstitutional result, based on semi-structured interviews and observations carried out inMercosur as well as in the European Union.

This diploma thesis deals with the postconflict reconstruction in Afghanistan from the american invasion in 2001 with the special focus on institutional reforms which were implemented there and whether these reforms caught on and function properly. Firstly, I deal with the conclusions which the theoretics of institutional economics came to regarding the role of institutions in economic development, how economic and political institutions come to existence and develop and if it is possible to change country's instituional environment. The institutions which lead to economic growth are above all equality before law, equality of opportunities, rule of law and free bussiness and trade. However, not all countries developed this optimal instituional framework because of different economic and political history. These countries then suffer from poverty and instability and in many of these cases the international community intervene to change this unfavourable situation. However, as many these unsuccessful interventions show, to change the country's institutional environment is not easy. Spontaneously or from below developed institutions are deeply rooted in society and if they are not in accordance with new institutional reforms, they will probably not function properly or will even lead to opposite results. In the case of Afghanistan, many years of civil war resulted in creation of war economy and total fall of state institutions while this power vacuum wal filled by rise of local warlords who, with the help of armed militias, seized control over number of regions and made a living by illegal trade. The reform process started after the successful military invasion in 2001 and after the fall of Taliban regime with the goal to establish liberal democracy of western type in Afghanistan was not successful. Most of the country is again under the control of Taliban, economy consists mostly of opium growing and illegal trade and the country is still extremely poor and instable and in spite of the change of formal rules actually nothing has changed- Afghanistan is still war economy and fallen state.

O núcleo desta dissertação é desenvolver um conceito de path dependence mais parcimonioso, coerente e útil, seja teoricamente ou em estudos empíricos. Neste sentido, o insight fundamental é que se partimos de uma conceitualização mais dinâmica, baseada mais em externalidades negativas do que em rendimentos crescentes, o conceito de path dependence pode ser inerentemente mais operacionalizável, robusto e ressoar melhor com a literatura e os estudos Institucionalistas Históricos. O conceito de path dependence pode também ser mais compatível com várias elaborações realizadas dentro do próprio Institucionalismo Histórico sobre questões como mudança institucional, mecanismos explicativos, complementaridade, idéias e agência, e, portanto, enriquecer-se graças aos mesmos. / The objective of this dissertation is to develop a more parsimonious, coherent and useful concept of path dependence, both theoretically and empirically. Its fundamental insight is that with a more dynamic conceptualization, based more in negative externalities than in increasing returns, the concept of path dependence can be inherently more robust and resonate better with the literature and Historical Institutionalist studies. The concept of path dependence can also be more compatible with several theoretical developments which have arisen within Historical Institutionalism regarding questions such as institutional change, social mechanisms, complementarities, ideas, agency and, therefore, to be enriched by them.

Economy professor Kjell Nordström argued at the Nordic Business forum Sweden, that regions such as Värmland would turn into wastelands in the aftermath of digitalization and urbanization. Digitalization has rapidly changed service provision effecting the provider-user interaction and service options available. To stay competitive, a sustainability report on the region recommends local actors to find common goals to enhance the value-proposition providing advantages not offered by larger elsewhere controlled or e-commerce actors. Previous studies regarding value co-creation conclude that due to macro level influences such as digitalization, a systemic approach is vital. Hence, this thesis uses a service ecosystem, approach addressing the problem and research inquiries regarding relationship market influence in and among various levels and relationship construction for mutual member goals capturing value. The aim of this thesis is to explore how actors can increase their resilience towards macro level influences. The empirical data was gathered through conducting a qualitative exploratory case study using non-probability sampling to map the service ecosystem around a resilient actor. The data collection comprised of field observation, a brief document analysis and seven semi-structured interviews. Five interviews with different actors supported by two interviews with key customers. The data was processed and thematically analyzed through coding and grouping. Findings was then compared to the theoretical framework and discussed in relation to the background and problem. The study concluded that actors were unable of making an impact individually and essentially need goal alignment for institutional change. However, depending on actor size, type, level of digitalization, and market aim, the importance varies. Actors primarily targeting a regional market were considered dependent on goal alignment and institutional change for resilience. By accomplishing collective goals ecosystem members indirectly achieve individual goals increasing competitiveness, enhancing the business climate. Through institutional change members counteract and restructure the ecosystem adjusting to macro level changes affecting the meso and micro interaction creating resilience.

Using the optics of institutional analysis, the master's thesis "Institutional Analysis of Support of Czech Cinematography" examines and critically evaluates the dynamics of shifts in public policy approach towards audiovisual culture and its subvention from public resources. First, the subsystem of audiovisual policy is set into a broader social and cultural context. Then the thesis continues with identification of key events that influenced the formal institutions of cinematography support, one of the most significant branches of audiovisual culture. Following the Velvet Revolution, cinematography is approached with a neoliberal optics because of its potential to generate a financial profit and its artistic dimension and ability to function as a medium for values and education are sidelined. Despite declared efforts to support cinematography, the state institutions do not offer any conceptual solution for severely underfinanced sector of domestic cinematography, the sector, whose functionality should be in public interest. Only recently, changes in formal institutions, striving to bring a more complex quality approach back to cinematography, can be observed. As long as there is no conceptual financial support, however, the desired goals cannot be achieved.

This dissertation seeks to understand how new meanings emerge in the context of institutional change. Existing research seeking to understand shifts in meaning has primarily accessed meaning, across numerous contexts, via the three key constructs of discourse, rhetoric, or framing. Within the context of the emergence of the local food movement in Canada, I employ a mixed methods approach using term frequencies, topic modelling and qualitative content analysis, within a computational grounded theory framework for Big Data analysis. My data consists of all articles containing any mention of the term “local food” in popular Canadian press over 37 years from 1978-2014, a database totalling 31,421 articles. My results show that firstly, new meanings pertaining to local food emerged rapidly over the 37-year period. The emergence of a new meaning for local food, associated with the politicization of food production occurred in the second half of my dataset, whereas the first half was marked by connotations of poverty and hunger, associated with the local food bank. Secondly, unexpected actors were found to significantly impact the propulsion of meaning change, by establishing new vocabularies surrounding the term “local food”. Finally, this dissertation shows that the new meanings associated with local food emerged as a result of discursive opportunities, momentarily arising through the confluence of discourse, rhetoric and framing. I propose an emergent process model of meaning change and, further, propose that discursive opportunity structures can be better understood through the metaphor of an emergent property. / Graduate / 2022-08-01

This thesis is focused on the labor conditions of garment industry in developing countries. The text is structured as a comparative case study that is concerned with the situation in Cambodia and Bangladesh. Case studies of these countries describe domestic garment industry, its general and specific problems and a rate of compliance with labor standards. The goal of the thesis is to determine whether international organizations have an influence on the improvement of labor conditions in developing countries and compare it with other relevant actors. In this particular case the attention is focused on the International Labor Organization which manages its supportive programs in both countries but in a different manner. A pilot ILO program focused on the private sector has started in Cambodia thirteen years ago while in Bangladesh ILO had managed to run traditional program focused on the public sector until the Rana Plaza tragedy. Moreover, in the case of Bangladesh is a characterization of change after the tragedy. The thesis examines innovative ILO program that focuses on the monitoring of the garment factories, its functioning and outcomes. It also examines the role of ILO and its orientation by a theory of institutional change: whether it is possible to restore efficacy of one of the oldest...

This thesis seeks to explain the evolution of non-state welfare provision in the People’s Republic of China under Xi Jinping and his recent predecessors. In particular, it examines the emergence, spread and institutionalization of a policy of government contracting services to non-governmental organizational (NGOs) and related political dynamics at the national, local, and state-NGO interaction levels. This thesis makes several theoretical claims regarding the causes and process of institutional change and the political implications of these transformations. I contend that decentralization, international influences, and authoritarian consolidation have combined to produce gradual institutional change characterized by processes of layering, conversion, and drift. These incremental changes have led to local institutional frameworks and practices of government contracting that remain incomplete and beset by unequal power dynamics between party-state and NGO actors. Notwithstanding the intent to increase the supply of services and promote state-NGO collaboration at local levels, purchase-of-service contracting policies are inseparable from strategies of political control, consent making, and governing techniques deployed by the ruling party-state. This dissertation reveals the presence of informal rules and power relations between purchasers and regulators (local governments) and service providers (NGOs) behind the façade of increasingly institutionalized state-NGO partnerships and of market-based standardized bidding competition processes. In this context, NGOs have adopted mitigating and adaptive strategies in order to cope with new opportunities and constraints. This thesis draws on interviews with NGO leaders and subject matter experts conducted during fieldwork in Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing. It also leverages policy documents, media sources, and an extensive review of distinct bodies of scholarly literature.