This thesis examines trade union workplace organisation, industrial relations and the nature of power in the employment relationship in the Tyneside Maritime Construction Industry (TMCI). It explores this in a context where trade union organisation could be expected to be severely challenged, but has proved to be remarkably resilient. The analysis was constructed from the literature and empirically grounded in the data. Firstly, it draws upon the union renewal debate and examines three themes identified as being the central features of workplace unionism; the effectiveness of shop steward organisation, levels of activity in membership participation and the significance of workplace democracy. The findings support other contributions to a thesis of workplace union resilience and add a further development to the debates by presenting evidence that suggests 'resilient renewal'. Secondly, the main intellectual approach adopted were models based upon mobilisation and social movement theories. Using these approaches in a micro level analysis of industrial relations helped to break down the employment relationship and draw out some significant issues. The key issues drawn out from this analysis suggest three significant features of the TMCI employment relationship. Firstly, that the workplace union organisation is resilient, secondly, that its influence in the employment relationship is powerful, and thirdly, that it is the collective identity that exists in the industry that gives them that power.

The thesis investigates the political wing of the Occitan ethnoregionalist movement in the south of France from 1974, a point when it had a comparatively high profile, to 2000, and analyses the reasons for its marginalisation over time. Unlike other ethnoregionalist movements in France, it has been subject to little academic research. A study was made of documentary sources, including the internal bulletins of the political organizations and their published journals, which made possible a micro-level perspective on the movement, and revealed some inaccuracies of interpretation by previous researchers. An overview of the evolution of the political wing is established. An evaluation of the functioning and effectiveness of the organizations, which identifies their internal problems, is followed by an investigation of the external factors which contributed to the marginalisation of the Occitan movement. These include the geographical, historical, demographic and socio-linguistic factors which have differentiated the Occitan movement from other French ethnoregionalist movements, and made mobilization of the target audience difficult. By taking a global view of Occitania, rather than focussing, like previous researchers, on Languedoc, the study highlights the extent to which such factors made the movement's aims for political autonomy for the whole of the territory unrealistic. The relative success of the movement in the mid 1970s resulted from the fact that for a period its aims were congruent with the wave of social movement activity in post-1968 France, but the association was not deep-seated. In the 1980s and 1990s the effects of the decentralization reforms and the growth of the Front National had a negative effect on the movement's mobilizational potential. The issue of leadership, referred to briefly in previous studies, is subjected here to more detailed analysis, and is revealed as a significant factor in the weakness of political Occitanism.

This thesis examines trends and issues in the policing of money laundering in Dubai focusing on the role of Dubai Police in money laundering control. It acknowledges that money laundering is a global phenomenon and Dubai is not an exception. It explores the existing governmental initiatives aimed at addressing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Whilst the unit of analysis in this thesis is the Emirate of Dubai, the thesis also considered the impact of regional (GCC) and international legislations and regulations (UN and FATF) on the policing of money laundering in Dubai. It is argued in this thesis that the major problem with policing of money laundering in Dubai is the lack of accountability of the AMLSCU that plays a leading role in the fight against money laundering. In addition, the information sharing amongst various government agencies and financial institutions is extremely poor. Where information pertaining to money laundering cases is shared, they are inconsistent and haphazard. Consequently, the government is facing problems to effectively combat money laundering in the Emirate. Other factors identified as major impediments are the lack of national database of money laundering cases which can be shared amongst the Police, the Customs Authority and the AMLSCU of Central Bank of UAE. The thesis also argues that poor training and lack of multi-agency/ interagency working is making the work of Dubai police difficult. Finally, it is argued that an a formal, integrated and intelligence-led information sharing model such as the UK National Intelligence Model (that draws on the importance of multi-agency working, information sharing and accountability) can serve as a more effective approach to the policing of money laundering in Dubai.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate corporate governance practices of firms, in particular financial institutions, and their impact on the performance of these institutions. As such it will contribute to the debate on the importance of corporate governance for banks. The investigation will cover examples from developed and transition economies. Corporate scandals in the 1990s and 2000s drew the attention of governments to the importance of corporate governance, and induced legislation to prevent similar situations in the future. This thesis highlights the differences between corporate governance of firms and that of banks and investigates the nature of the relationship between corporate governance practices and performance of banks in the USA (as an example of a developed economy) and Kosova and Montenegro (as examples of South East European (SEE) transition economies). The thesis will also investigate the state of corporate governance in the two SEE countries and its developments since these countries became independent. This thesis will address two methodological issues that have been ignored or not treated jointly by previous research: the endogenous nature of corporate governance; and the dynamic aspect of the relationship with performance. In the context of SEE countries this thesis represents the first attempt to analyse the development of a corporate governance framework for financial institutions in Kosova and Montenegro, involving the creation of an index for the quality of corporate governance and, to the extent that the data permits, the first analysis of the relationship between corporate governance quality and the performance of financial institutions. The thesis investigates these questions by firstly embarking on a critical review of the literature to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the previous work in this area and identify the gap in the literature and secondly engaging in empirical investigation of the relationship. The data used for the empirical part of the thesis consists of published data on corporate governance ranking of US banks and the information on financial operations of banks from the Bankscope database. There are no published datasets on the state of corporate governance in SEE banks. A bank survey was therefore organised by the author to explore the compliance of these banks with OECD Corporate Governance Principles. The data was supplemented with the financial information of individual banks obtained from their annual reports. Using both, cross section and dynamic panel model techniques, the empirical investigation shows that there is a positive relationship between the measure of good corporate governance and the market capitalisation of banks in the USA. A similar relationship also exists between one dimension of corporate governance (shareholders’ rights) and the performance of financial institutions in Kosova and Montenegro. Thus, this research contributes to the scarce empirical research on the relationship between corporate governance and performance of financial institutions in the developed economies, and to the not hitherto investigated relationship in SEE countries.

The main aim of this thesis is to examine, through an analysis of relevant case law, the way in which the courts interpret and apply primary legislation pursuant to the interpretative obligation contained in section 2(1) and (4) of the European Communities Act 1972 and section 3(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998, and to assess current judicial attitudes to the traditional concept of parliamentary sovereignty in the light of the judicial perception of the interpretative obligation in the above-mentioned provisions. As an essential prelude to the examination of the case law on the judicial treatment of the interpretative obligation in the 1972 and 1998 Acts, chapter 2 of the thesis discusses the traditional, Diceyan concept of parliamentary sovereignty. This is considered without the effects of the 1972 and 1998 Acts. This chapter demonstrates that the courts perceived it as their constitutional duty to obey and apply the latest will of Parliament without question. It is observed that no legal grounds could exist for challenging the validity or enforceability of primary legislation. Chapter 3 discusses conventional methods of statutory interpretation. It is observed that conventionally, the principal aim of statutory interpretation is the ascertainment of parliamentary intention in the statute under consideration. Where the intention of Parliament is clear and unambiguous and is not absurd in any way, the courts feel duty-bound to carry out the identified parliamentary intention in line with the rule, demanded by the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, that courts obey without question the latest will of Parliament. The rest of the thesis is devoted to an examination of the way in which the courts use their interpretative powers under section 2(1) and (4) of the 1972 Act and section 3(1) of the 1998 Act when interpreting and applying primary legislation coming within the purview of these enactments. It is argued that while the courts appear to continue to acknowledge the sovereignty or supremacy of Parliament, the case law reveals that in appropriate cases, section 2(1) and (4) of the 1972 Act and section 3(1) of the 1998 Act has enabled judges to interpret and apply primary legislation in a way that substantially challenges the traditional, Diceyan concept of parliamentary sovereignty. They feel able to ignore or otherwise modify the legal effects of unambiguous primary legislation in appropriate cases.

When President Jimmy Carter entered the White House, he desired a decision-making structure that would be collegial and provide him with a diverse range of policy options from his principal advisors, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. However, their differing outlooks coupled with a desire to control and manage U.S. foreign policy led to a furious and bitter battle to influence the administration's agenda. This thesis analyses the relationship between Vance and Brzezinski and their struggles for the ear of the president. It was a conflict exacerbated by the institutional rivalry between the National Security Council and the State Department as they battled with one another to affect policy. As issues arose, the president's advisors, supported by their constituencies, jostled to orchestrate the administration's strategies and approach. Subsequently, tensions increased as the conflict between Vance, Brzezinski and their departments developed into unbridled bureaucratic warfare within the Carter administration. This study utilises the bureaucratic politics paradigm to illustrate how the influence of advisors and organisations can impact on presidential decision-making. While President Carter wanted to be the main decision maker in his administration, his insistence on a system that provided him with a range of advice precipitated the struggles between Vance and Brzezinski. As their disputes intensified, Carter was unable to effectively manage the views and advice of his advisors and formulate a clear strategy. As this thesis demonstrates, the bureaucratic politics model provides an effective framework to analyse the development and implementation of U.S. foreign policy. While historians have neglected or played down the significance of their clashes, this thesis argues that the rivalry between Vance, Brzezinski, and their respective departments had a clear and visible effect on U.S. foreign policy. The bureaucratic wars raged throughout Carter's time in office, contributing to a tapestry of inconsistencies that resulted in the administration's inability to create a settled foreign policy agenda.

Since the 1970s Aragon has been at the centre of heated controversies over central government proposals to transfer water from the Ebro to Spain’s Mediterranean coastal regions and the scene of numerous mass demonstrations in opposition to these. Throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries the Ebro has been used and perceived by Aragonese regionalism, nationalism and aragonesismo in a variety of ways. This gives rise to the possibility that opposition to the transfer of water from the Ebro goes beyond purely economic and environmental considerations and evokes deeper nationalistic aspects which see it as an essential element of Aragonese identity, patrimonial wealth and natural national heritage. The Ebro had a prominent place in the thinking of the early twentieth century nationalist group as a life-giver and father figure of Aragonese identity and a symbol of territory, homeland, regional development and patrimonial wealth. Later defence of the Ebro against proposed water transfers has been used by Aragonese territorial parties to raise key aragonesista and nationalist issues, increase national awareness and assist in nation-building. The thesis shows how it has become inextricably interwoven with aspects such as identity, myths, symbols, heritage, collective memory and future economic prosperity and how threats to it, in the form of proposed water transfers, are used to stir up feelings of a ‘nationalistic’ nature, create a sense of grievance and injustice and make it a powerful ‘rallying symbol’, ‘crowd symbol’ and a ‘symbol of unity’. However, the analysis reveals many different derivations, contradictions, differences and paradoxes in how it is viewed in different periods and by different aragonesista and nationalist groups which detract from it reaching its full symbolic potential. To date, there have been no specific studies of the importance of the Ebro in aragonesismo and Aragonese nationalism. This thesis will contribute to knowledge on this aspect as well as to debates on sub-state nationalisms and the role of landscape and natural elements in nationalism and national identity.

The International Relations (IR) literature has been dominated by studies on great powers, often neglecting the role of small states. Moreover, the accounts on small states have generally overlooked the role of geography. This thesis proposes an analytical framework to observe the role of geography by observing the impact of Multinational Transboundary Infrastructures (MTIs) on the relational power of small states. The framework is then applied to the case study of Laos observing the impact of two selected MTIs – the Xayaburi dam and the Boten-Vientiane high-speed railway – on Laos’s relational power with respect to Vietnam and China. Data has been collected through a set of 48 semi-structured qualitative elite interviews mainly carried out during a period of fieldwork in Laos in 2015. The data generated by the interviews, triangulated with other primary and secondary sources, enabled a process tracing analysis of the two negotiation processes on the selected MTIs. The findings show that the two observed MTIs positively affected the relational power of Laos despite the asymmetry that shapes its bilateral relationships with both Vietnam and China in terms of capabilities. The case study therefore indicates that a central geographic position could reduce asymmetries of power and that relational power manifest a greater explanatory capacity than power-as-capabilities. This thesis contributes to knowledge adding empirical material on the diplomatic negotiation on the Xayaburi dam; on the Boten–Vientiane high-speed railway; on Laos’s international relations with Vietnam and China; and on China’s High-Speed Railway Diplomacy. The thesis contributes also to the theoretical literature by identifying a geographic gap in small states studies. Analytically, the thesis contributes developing the concept of MTIs and an original analytical framework to study relational power. Finally, methodologically the thesis provides new insights on how to gain access to elites in Laos.

The Coalition government’s (2010-2015) programme of public sector reform and austerity resulted in fundamental changes to the orientation of community development in England. This thesis investigates what happened to community development in England during this five-year period and its implications for professionals, volunteers and local people involved in community development processes. A post-structuralist discourse analysis methodology was operationalised and the empirical work consisted of 20 interviews with key social actors involved in community development processes in a case study local authority in the north east of England. Using post-structuralist discourse analysis, the transcripts were analysed alongside 54 key texts including: discourse by political and policy leaders, national and local policies, and academic debate. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by demonstrating how the Coalition programme silenced community development as a distinct and legitimate practice, and re-shaped it as social enterprise, volunteering and community organising. The empirical findings establish four available discourses of community development. Yet, the hegemonic Enterprise discourse totalised the policy landscape and ‘othered’ community development as a bureaucratic, top-down, inefficient and ineffective relic of the previous New Labour government. In conjunction with the public sector cuts, this resulted in the decline of the community development worker subject position in England; with community development professionals increasingly nudged to adopt the subject positons of social entrepreneurs, professional volunteers and, to a lesser extent, community organisers. Local people were similarly nudged to volunteer in community development, social enterprise and community organising processes; and more skilled volunteers encouraged to take on professional responsibilities unsalaried. These findings suggest that the silencing and re-shaping of community development as social enterprise, volunteering and community organising is a ‘new’ permutation of neoliberal hegemony to roll-out citizen responsibilisation where local people provide community services rather than ‘relying’ on state intervention and resources. This thesis concludes that the Coalition programme exploited the ambiguity of community development and, in doing so, exposed four historical problems in the community development field. To protect community development from future attacks, this thesis proposes a genealogical post-doctoral study to unearth these problematic roots to then cultivate a community development free of such underpinnings.

Innovation is crucial for firms’ growth and competitiveness. Yet, because knowledge is a public good, firms may underinvest in innovation activities to avoid freeriding and opportunistic behaviour. Besides market failures, another cause of underinvestment in innovation is associated with the concept of systems failures, advanced in the literature on systems of innovation. Potential adverse effects of market and systems failures provide scope for government intervention designed to foster investment in innovation and bring about innovation activities at the socially optimal level. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of innovation policy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by exploring whether public support has an "additionality" effect on their innovation activities. First, we investigate the impact of public support on innovation output (output additionality) in traditional manufacturing industries. Second, we focus on the effect of innovation support programmes on innovative behaviour, particularly on networking and cooperation for innovation among Spanish SMEs (behavioural additionality). Finally, we assess both output and behavioural additionality among European SMEs.