En mars 2011, la communauté internationale s'est réunie pour soutenir les ambitions démocratiques des manifestants libyens et pour s'opposer vigoureusement à la violence perpétrée par Kadhafi contre son peuple. Nicolas Sarkzoy, président de la République française, a joué un rôle clé dans les négociations qui ont entraîné la mise en place d'une zone d'exclusion aérienne et le lancement d'une opération militaire pour protéger les populations civiles en Libye. Cette thèse examine les ambitions de Sarkozy et le leadership diplomatique qu'il a démontré entre le déclenchement des révoltes en Libye et le prise en charge de l'opération militaire par l'Otan. Elle analyse d'abord les grands thèmes qui influencent la politique étrangère française traditionnelle puis la politique étrangère menée par Sarkozy depuis le début de sa présidence pour mieux comprendre la vision que la France a de sa place dans le système international. Après avoir identifié les objectifs de la politique étrangère française en général et de la politique étrangère de Sarkozy, cette thèse explique les objectifs que Sarkozy voulait réaliser à travers ses actions diplomatiques vis-à-vis du conflit libyen ainsi que les moyens dont il s'est servi pour les réaliser. Elle trouve que les actions de Sarkozy représentent une tentative de réaffirmer la réputation de la France en tant que grande puissance diplomatique.

Une modification de la politique contre-terroriste française est nécessaire pour combattre le phénomène nouveau des Français qui quittent leur pays pour rejoindre l’État Islamique en Irak et en Syrie. Malheureusement, les idées fausses omniprésentes fonctionnent comme des barrières contre la capacité de formuler une politique progressive. Il faut déboulonner les mythes qui entourent le terrorisme pour qu’on puisse ouvrir la porte à une discussion plus éclairée du problème des Français qui participent à l’État Islamique. C’est essentiellement le but de cette thèse. Le premier chapitre fournit un résumé de l’histoire du terrorisme en France, une histoire qui montre que le terrorisme n’est ni un phénomène nouveau ni lié intrinsèquement à l’islamisme. Le deuxième chapitre présente une série de cinq études de cas de terroristes français et examine leurs parcours vers la radicalisation et l’action terroriste. À travers ces cinq histoires, cette thèse démystifie le mythe du loup solitaire et on arrive à voir les terroristes comme des individus, comme des êtres humains. Grâce à cela, on arrive à mieux comprendre le processus de radicalisation. Finalement, le dernier chapitre présente la situation actuelle, évalue les mesures du gouvernement français pour affronter la situation actuelle et propose de nouvelles pistes pour une politique contre-terroriste française plus efficace.

The purpose of this policy report is to elucidate the current Arctic strategies and capabilities of the major Arctic nations – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States – with the aim of identifying American shortcomings in the region and potential policy suggestions to correct these failings. The report first illuminates the potential for resource gain in the Arctic, specifically with respect to oil and natural gas and the potential for commercial growth represented by new Arctic shipping routes. The report also discusses the difficulties associated with reaping the rewards of the Arctic, specifically the lack of maritime infrastructure, the additional costs and risks associated with operating in the Arctic, and the speed with which the Arctic is melting. In general, the report finds that Arctic nations other than the United States are moving aggressively to protect their current and future commercial gains in the Arctic operating space. All countries are doing so by adhering to international legal standards such as the UN Convention on the Laws of the Seas and creating Arctic-specific domestic policies. The much vaunted military expansion in the Arctic is nothing more than countries attempting to protect and police their economic gains in the region. The United States has fallen far behind in all of these regards, and stands to lose out in the Arctic if it does not correct this situation immediately. The report presents the following suggestions for the United States: Create an “American Arctic Policy” document at the Executive level Accede to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea Approve or facilitate funding for a new heavy icebreaker, while solving the question of the Polar Sea Adjudicate an appropriate compromise on the Beaufort Wedge dispute with Canada Improve bilateral capabilities and create agreements with Russia in the Bering Strait and Canada in the Beaufort Sea Strengthen international Arctic cooperation through strong Arctic Council leadership

Much of the academic discussion on the topic of radicalization and terrorism in the Balkans has been centered on the conditions and the processes by which individuals become radicalized and indoctrinated, even to a point of engaging in violence. Comparatively speaking, this ethnographic research addressed the factors that prompt Kosovo's Muslim extremists, a small number of them engaged in the conflict, to disengage from terrorist groups fighting in the Syrian and the Iraq conflict. Data were collected from 12 government officials with direct knowledge on the issue of disengagement from terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Cognitive dissonance theory served as the theoretical framework for this ethnographic study, while the conceptual framework was built around social, psychological, and physical factors associated with disengagement from terrorism. Interviews served as primary methods of data collection. The content analysis technique was applied to identify emergent themes. The findings highlighted the crucial role of psychological and social factors in individuals' decision to abandon terrorist organizations engaged in the Iraq and the Syrian conflict. The findings also suggested that affecting ideological values of extremists or terrorist groups may not be sufficient. Recommendations include incorporating a combination of â??softâ?? and â??hardâ?? power measures in addressing the issue of disengagement from terrorist groups. The findings generated from this study may inform the development of more efficient counter-radicalization and counterterrorism policies in Kosovo and the Balkans in general. The findings may also add value to the global literature on disengagement from terrorism.

Botswana has recently garnered analytic attention as an anomaly of the “resource curse” phenomenon. Worldwide, countries whose economies are highly skewed towards a dependence on the export of non-renewable natural resources such as oil, diamonds and uranium, have been among the most troubled, authoritarian, poverty-stricken and conflict-prone; a phenomenon widely regarded as the “resource curse". The resource curse explains the varying fortunes of countries based on their resource wealth, with resource-rich countries faring much worse than their resource-poor counterparts. However, Botswana, with diamond exports accounting for 50percent of government revenues and 80percent of total exports, has achieved one of the fastest economic growth rates in the developing world in the last 50 years. Furthermore, the Freedom House ranks it as the safest, most stable, least corrupt and most democratic country on sub-Saharan Africa. In attempting to answer why Botswana apparently escaped the “resource curse”, this research assumes that both formal and informal institutions within the state acted as intermediary variables in determining its fortune. This research thus addresses the deeper question of where Botswana obtained its unique institutional quality that facilitated its apparent escape of the resource curse. It traces Botswana’s history through four lenses: legitimacy and historical continuity, political culture, ethnicity and identity management, and external relations; as having explanatory value in understanding the Botswana exception. The research finds most evidence of Botswana’s institutional quality emanating from the country’s political culture which it found more compatible with the institutions of development and democracy that facilitate both positive economic and political outcomes. It also found evidence of legitimacy and historical continuity facilitating the robustness of both formal and informal institutions in Botswana, and identity management through assimilation as having buffered against the effects of ethnically motivated resource plunder. It however, found the least support for the assertion that external relations contributed to institutional quality.

This paper explores the cross-cultural differences in affect valuation, emotion regulation, and the relationship between affect valuation, emotion regulation and subjective well-being across White Americans, Asians, and Third Culture Kids (TCKs). Emotional experiences shape every facet of our lives, yet understanding the extent to which emotional experiences are universal is still poorly understood. This is particularly the case among individuals with diverse cultural experiences. In the current study, we look at TCK individuals, a group composed of White-identifying individuals who spent a significant time of their childhood in East Asian countries. Through a questionnaire that was distributed via email and word of mouth, participants (N = 239) were asked to complete five surveys that included a subjective well-being scale, the affect valuation index, an emotion regulation questionnaire, an interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire, and a set of scenarios that tested the individual’s tendency to feel a duty to themselves or to others. This study found that the Asian group significantly valued low arousal emotions more so than European Americans or the TCK individuals. TCKs were most likely to feel a strong sense of duty to help others.

This study aims to answer two interlinked questions with respect to ethnic conflict in Georgia: Why and how two ethnic groups (Abkhazians and Ossetians) in Georgia sought secession in 1990s rather than accepting unity under a common Georgian roof, and what explains the occurrence of ethnic conflicts between the Abkhazians and Georgians and between the South Ossetians and Georgians? The central argument of this thesis is that Soviet nationality policy was a foremost driving force in shaping consciousness of being ethnic groups in Georgia and set the stage for the inter-ethnic conflicts of the post-Soviet era. A number of factors explain the particular inter-ethnic conflicts in Georgia among ethnic groups, including a long historical relationship between the Georgian people and the Abkhaz and Ossetian minorities, but I argue that the foremost factor was the role of Soviet nationality policy that evolved from Lenin to Gorbachev, a policy that granted ethnic groups some level of privileges and fostered a wave of national self-assertion, Soviet nationality policy and the Soviet federal structure created numerous ethnic- and territorial-based autonomous units during the Soviet era; these units shaped their own political institutions, national intelligentsias, and bureaucratic elites, forming the basis for later nationalistic movements and developing a wish for self-determination and full independence. These institutions and beliefs made ethnic conflict in a post-Soviet Georgia inevitable.

A comparison of the structure and effectiveness of recovery ecosystems for opioid use disorder in Portugal and Appalachia, with a focus on identifying areas for improvement within the Appalachian region.

In many urban areas, there are multiple and overlapping layers of governments, which can be problematic for purposes of emergency operations planning for a multiple jurisdiction disaster response. The purpose of this single case study of the National Capital Region was to understand (a) the emergency operations planning collaboration process and (b) how cross-sector collaboration results in synchronized regional disaster responses. Theories of competitive federalism and cross-sector collaboration served as the basis of this study. Research questions explored how organizations collaborate; their organizational structures, processes, and practices; and how relationships between them affect collaboration. Data were collected through reviews of the National Capital Region Homeland Security Strategic Plan and the Regional Emergency Coordination Plan and interviews with 5 network members. A coding map was created to correlate interview responses to research questions and then cross-checked to provide the basis for a thick description of the evidence. The documents provided a basis for understanding how the network operated. Comparing these 2 data sources with coded transcripts and field notes substantiated the evidence. Results indicated that planning network guidance provided the structure for network participants' collaboration to facilitate planning and disaster responses. This research may contribute to positive social change by expanding emergency management network understanding of a cross-sector collaboration planning model that addresses disaster support requirements, enabling better protection of people, property, and the environment.

In the novel The Stringer, Perla Coughlin has evacuated Pittsburgh following a biological attack. Now, at a Red Cross Shelter in Ohio, she slowly strings a racket as she tells a volunteer about her past, Pittsburgh's past, and what might lay ahead for both. Characters grapple with their ignorance toward environmental warning signs, the hidden costs of technology, and the disquieting ways in which apocalypses reveal "who we really are." The first-person novel relies heavily on the epistolary tradition as well as Oulipean conventions of form and structure. Tennis serves as a unifying force amongst the four main characters, and the 2010 U.S. Census provides the vehicle through which terrorists launch their plot. The novel aims at a return toward Pittsburgh, but returning home is easier said that done. The city and its industries have been fundamentally changed. Personal secrets have been brought to light. Perla's fierce loyalty to her city makes forgiveness as tall as task as clawing her way back to Pittsburgh.