Digital Repression: Backlash or Deterrence of Dissent? is a quantitative analysis of the MENA region between the years 2000 and 2020. By distinguishing, theoretically as well as empirically, between nonphysical and physical aspects of state repression, this study aims to fill an identified research gap and contribute to the literature on the repression-dissent puzzle. To answer the research question; how does digital repression affect dissent?, this study uses digital repression as the independent variable and looks into whether this nonphysical form of state repression has a positive or negative effect on dissent, aggregating between violent and nonviolent forms of the dependent variable. In connection to logistic regression, the main finding is that digital repression seems to have a positive (backlash) effect on dissent, no matter the type of dissident tactic.

It is more than a decade since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, and the European External Action Service (EEAS) was founded to unify the EU's foreign policy and make it more coherent and consistent. With the creation of the EEAS, the Commission delegations were transformed into EU delegations, and the delegations started to represent the whole EU abroad politically. The Lisbon Treaty clearly strengthened the EU foreign policy and arguably gave the EU a common voice in the world. However, the speed at which the transformation took, and takes place, is not the same in all third (non-EU) countries where the EU is present. Many scholars argue that there is still a lack of consistency in EU foreign policy, and some aspects of EU external action after Lisbon are still understudied, such as EU external action in specific regions. Against this backdrop, and within a theoretical framework of Frauke Austermann’s theory of a European diplomatic service of “different speeds,” this thesis examines the consistency of the political role between EU delegations in selected Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries in an attempt to answer the following research question: How consistent is the political role between EU delegations in the MENA region twelve years after the founding of the EEAS and the political sections of the delegations? This is done by conducting and analysing semi-structured interviews with diplomats working in the political sections of fourteen of the sixteen EU delegations in the region. With the help of a qualitative content analysis method, the consistency of the political role is examined by investigating the function of the political sections, their main tasks within the respective delegations and their relations and interaction with headquarters in Brussels, EU member states’ (EUMS) foreign missions and host country authorities. The findings of this thesis show that a few observations of the interviewees could put the consistency of the political role into question. The main issues concerned malfunctioning cooperation between the sections of the delegations, the influence of specific EUMSs on the work of the delegations and the poor staffing (although this was a rather consistent issue). Yet, for the most part, based on the aspects studied in this thesis, the political role proved to be very consistent between the delegations of the region.

No description available.

This thesis is an ethnography of the global belly dance community with particular reference to the transmission of dance paradigms from Cairo to the international dance community. Key words describing my topic include dance, gender, performance, group dynamics, social norms and resistance, public vs. private, tourism, and globalisation. I hypothesize that social dancing is used in many parts of the world as a space outside ordinary life in which to demonstrate compliance with or to challenge prevailing social paradigms. The examination of dance as a globalised unit of cultural capital is an emerging field. With this in mind I investigate the way this dance is employed in professional, semi-professional, and non-professional settings in Egypt and in other parts of the world, notably North America and Europe. Techniques included interviewing members of the international dance community who engage in dance tourism, travelling from their homes to Egypt or other destinations in order to take dance classes, get costumes, or in other ways seek to have an 'authentic' dance experience. I also explored connections dancers fostered with other members of the dance community both locally and in geographically distant locations by using online blogs, websites, listservs and social networking sites. I conducted the first part of my fieldwork in Cairo following this with fieldwork in belly dance communities in the United States and Britain.

L’aspect peu volatil observé durant les différentes crises financières et l’importance des externalités relatives à la simulation des économies hôtes attribuent aux IDE une dimension considérable surtout pour les pays en développement (PED). Dès lors, l'attractivité du territoire est devenue la priorité principale des politiques des PED vers une ouverture sur les marchés internationaux. Ce qui explique la grande vague de réformes structurelles et de stratégies attractives qui a marqué ces économies durant ces deux dernières décennies. La contribution de cette thèse repose sur l'analyse des déterminants des IDE au niveau macroéconomique et mésoéconomique. La première étude consiste à estimer l’attractivité des territoires de la région du Moyen Orient et de l’Afrique du Nord (MENA). Nous avons appliqué les nouveaux apports de l’économétrique spatiale pour la spécification des flux bilatéraux de huit pays MENA en provenance de 16 pays d’OCDE sur la période 1985-2010. L'objectif est d'examiner la spécificité de cette région en évaluant conjointement la contribution spatiale interrégionale pour expliquer la nature des IDE et le rôle de l’autocorrélation spatiale intra-régionale à promouvoir l’investissement dans les territoires étudiés. La deuxième étude procède à l’analyse typique du climat d’investissement marocain objet de la recherche. Il s’agit de faire une comparaison sectorielle en identifiant la significativité des déterminants des IDE dans le secteur primaire, le secteur secondaire et le secteur tertiaire. Le travail consiste en premier lieu d’évaluer l’impact des variables macroéconomiques sur les flux des IDE dans neuf secteurs. En deuxième lieu, des variables mesurant la qualité institutionnelle sont intégrées individuellement afin d’approximer les différentes élasticités du climat juridique et administratif sur l’attractivité des IDE. / The low volatility observed during the global financial crises and the importance of externalities on simulating host economies attribute considerable interest to foreign direct investment especially for developing countries (DCs). Therefore, the territorial attractiveness became the main priority for DCs’s policies towards more international openness. This explains the multitude of structural reforms and attractive strategies adopted by these economies over the last two decades. The contribution of this thesis is based on the analysis of FDI determinants at the macroeconomic and mesoeconomic level. The first study estimates the territorial attractiveness of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We have applied the new contributions of the spatial econometric specification to examine the bilateral flows from 16 OECD countries to eight MENA countries over the period 1985-2010. The purpose is to jointly evaluating the spatial interregional contribution to explain the nature of FDI present in the region and the role of the spatial intraregional autocorrelation to promote investment in the studied areas. The second study proceeds to analyze the specificity of Moroccan investment climate subject of this research. It consists to compare different economic sectors by identifying the significance of the FDI determinants in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Thus, we estimate the impact of macroeconomic variables on FDI inflows within nine sectors. Thereafter, three institutional variables are individually incorporated to approximate the various elasticities of the legal and administrative climate on FDI attractiveness.

Les PME structurent 90% des économies émergentes. Elles sont duales, à la fois moteurs de l'activité mondiale et vulnérables à cause d’un recours excessif à l'endettement et d'une économie informelle prégnante. Nous pensons que le capital investissement peut consolider et diffuser cette traction économique devenue l’apanage des seules nations émergentes. Se pose alors la question : « Quel modèle de capital investissement pour les pays émergents ? ». La méthodologie retenue répond à la contrainte d’une littérature encore réduite et d’un difficile accès à l’information. Nous suivons en conséquence une démarche inductive et étudions, au travers du modèle théorique de Timmons, la création d’un fonds d’investissement en Egypte de 2008 à 2011. A partir de ce cas clinique longitudinal, nous induisons un modèle de capital investissement entrepreneurial, à destination des pays émergents et inspiré du capital risque technologique. / SMEs represent 90% of emerging economies. They are dual, both engine for the world economy and vulnerable because of their excessive indebtedness and the weight of informal activities. We think private equity can enhance and spread this economic traction that only qualifies emerging countries. Thus, our question appears as: “Which model for emerging markets private equity?”. We select an inductive approach to address constraints of a limited research literature and a difficult access to data. Through the theoretical Timmons’ model, we perform a longitudinal clinical study of a private equity fund in Egypt, during its inception from 2008 to 2011. We design from our research an entrepreneurial private equity model, dedicated to emerging markets and inspired by venture capital.

Extant research on terrorism has predominantly examined conditions associated with transnational terror. Considerably less is known about home-grown or domestic terrorism despite its accounting for much of the non-state violence seen in the international system. While some have examined the relationship between education and political violence, less has been done to investigate qualitatively the relationship between education and domestic terrorism, particularly under the condition of corruption. Comparing the cases of Morocco, Libya, Jordan and Egypt between 1970-2010, I find that increases in education bear little connection with levels of domestic terror. However, empirics suggest that increases in education may play a role in individual abilities to recognise and react against, sometimes violently, perceived state corruption. Findings suggest a need for further disaggregated data on the perpetrators of terrorist violence to better understand the complex relationship between education and domestic terror.

Water stress is increasing globally, especially affecting arid regions of the world such as Egypt. Due to challenges related to intensifying effects of climate change and a rapidly growing population, the levels of and access to water is a continuous area of concern for the country – making it important to analyze how these water issues are managed. This study connects the hydrosocial cycle and commoning frameworks in analyzing how water is managed in a downstream, desert reclamation area in Fayoum, Egypt – and how this management, or lack thereof, affects the livelihoods of the people living there. In doing so, we examine how possible commoning practices are influenced by factors related to the hydrosocial cycle. Fieldwork has been conducted for this case study by holding participatory workshops, semi-structured interviews, and observations. Our findings imply that the hydrosocial cycle has shaped the management of water in our studied site, which has in turn affected the commoning practices that take place there. The low water levels and the saline quality of the water is what has created the prevalent forms of commoning that can be seen in the community.  The presence of a local agricultural association has also influenced the commoning practices. The quality and levels of water in the area are in part managed by neighbors borrowing irrigation minutes from each other, and by collective olive harvest. To a lesser extent there are also instances of neighbors helping each other with agricultural work throughout the year, and sharing reservoirs. There are indications that these commoning practices play a part in sustaining livelihoods in the community. The commoning practices found in the studied site have emerged in a relatively new social context and can be characterized as context specific patches of commoning, occurring on the peripheries of hybrid institutions – that have largely been shaped by hydrosocial forces. As the hydrosocial cycle is ever-changing, these commoning practices will likely also come to change.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on park planning in Dubai, and how current differences in their socio-spatial access can be alleviated by using regional-vernacular design principles. The thesis uses a mixed method approach that begins with the analysis of parks across the entire city to understand their current access and distribution, and then narrows down to focusing on four micro-case studies,which will serve as sites where improvements could be made. These improvements are inspiredby vernacular design and planning and aim to improve current access. All work originates fromthe author unless otherwise cited.