The thesis examines the practice of corruption in the Palestinian Authority (PA) from the period of its establishment until the death of Arafat. Palestinian elite formation from the late Ottoman period until the establishment of the PA was assessed in order to identify the elites that came into power in the PA and the political cultures they came to espouse. The two primary elite groups’ (Outsider elites and Insider counter-elites) conflicting political cultures were assessed in how they influenced the decision making process, the construction, and exhibited institutional behaviour of the PA. With the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (Oslo Accords) on the 13th of September, 1993 between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Government of Israel it established the Palestinian Authority as the government in transition for the Palestinians. The agreements conferred the governing power and leadership role to the PLO Outsider elites (under Arafat). Due to the secret nature and asymmetrical power relation by which the negotiations and agreements were conducted and signed between the PLO Outsider leadership and the Government of Israel, which excluded inputs from Palestinian Insider elites, the culminating PA structure came to exhibit institutional weakness with certain neo-patrimonial behaviour. The political framework by which the Oslo Accords constructed the PA and influenced by international actors warranted institutional-weakness. Moreover, as external actors’ demands for the PA to deal with the declining Peace Process, and address political and security issues increased, PA corruption behaviour became more apparent and proliferated which became indicative of its fundamental problem in that it lacked statehood, lacked authority and legitimacy, and thus resorted to neo-patrimonial and repressive methods to govern. This neo-patrimonial political culture of Arafat and his governing Outsider elites used corruption as a PA political tool for survival thus suppressing a nascent democratic political culture of the Insiders and consequently led to an institutionalisation of corruption in the PA.

Cette recherche porte sur la migration de citoyens de pays du Nord dans les Territoires Palestiniens Occupés (TPO). Elle vise à analyser les trajectoires sociales et migratoires de ces individus, désignés localement « internationaux », ainsi qu'à montrer comment ils sont des acteurs dans la situation locale au travers de leurs mobilités, leurs emplois et leurs engagements. Cette problématique de recherche s'inscrit au croisement de deux phénomènes : d'une part, la diversification et l'accroissement des migrations internationales, et plus spécifiquement celles allant du Nord vers le Sud, et, d'autre part, l'émergence de conditions matérielles et professionnelles favorables à l'arrivée de citoyens étrangers dans un pays en conflit, sous l'effet de l'afflux massif de l'aide internationale depuis les années 1990. L'étude des profils sociaux des « internationaux » résidant dans les TPO révèle une forte homogénéité sociale et culturelle : on observe ainsi une migration de jeunes hautement diplômés, issus de familles de classes moyennes supérieures d'Europe ou d'Amérique du Nord, et particulièrement dotés en capitaux culturels. Toutefois, l'analyse des trajectoires souligne une certaine diversité des parcours migratoires et des liens entretenus à la Palestine. La seconde partie de cette thèse s'intéresse à la place politique et sociale des « internationaux » dans l'espace israélo-palestinien. La question des mobilités est cruciale pour saisir la position inédite de cette population migrante. Sa présence dans les TPO fait l'objet d'un contrôle important et croissant de la part des autorités israéliennes qui cherchent à la limiter et à la surveiller. Dans le même temps, à l'intérieur de l'espace israélo-palestinien, les « internationaux » bénéficient de droits à la mobilité dont sont privés les Palestiniens. L'étude des privilèges et des tensions qui en ressortent permet d'interroger les positionnements et le rôle de ces étrangers. Enfin, deux autres thématiques sont explorées : leur participation au système de l'aide internationale et leur engagements politiques vis-à-vis de la cause palestinienne. Tour à tour, pris dans les dynamiques sociopolitiques locales et partie prenante de ces mêmes dynamiques, les citoyens étrangers résidant dans les TPO représentent pour la recherche une entrée heuristique pour penser les circulations Nord-Sud comme la situation palestinienne actuelle. / This PhD research studies the current migration of nationals from northern countries to the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). It aims to analyze the social and migratory trajectories of those called "internationals" and attempts to highlight how, through their mobility practices, work and political engagements, they can be considered a new group of actors in the oPt. This core question falls within two global and regional phenomena: first, the increase and diversification of international migration, especially North to South flows, and secondly, the vast rate of international assistance to the oPt since the 1990s, which has resulted in the emergence of tangible conditions conducive to the migration of foreign citizens to a conflict zone. By examining their social features, a strong social and cultural homogeneity of an apparently divers group of individuals becomes apparent; it is a migration of relatively young, affluent people from the upper middle classes of Europe or North America, endowed with cultural and international capital. However, the study of the trajectories that led them to oPt reveals a diversity of migratory paths and links to Palestine. The second part of my PhD thesis tackles the social and political role and position of "internationals". Mobility rights and practices are a relevant and challenging angle to discuss the atypical position of such migrants. Indeed, Israeli authorities seek to monitor, control and limit foreign presence in the oPt (through a variety of measures), transforming privileged people into suspected and unwanted individuals. Yet inside the Israeli-Palestinian space, they are granted mobility privileges which allow them to circulate freely while Palestinians are rendered immobile in their homeland. The study of these privileges and the resulting tension calls into question internationals' position in Palestinian society. Finally, internationals' participation in the aid regime and the political actions taken by some migrants on the Palestinian cause are addressed. Through the political and socio-economic implications of their presence, western citizens living in the oPt are an heuristic point of entry to contribute to the fields of North-South migration studies and Palestinian studies.

Cette recherche porte sur l’adaptation socio-économique de la filière oléicole palestinienne face aux dispositifs de contrôle et de séparation israéliens (1993-2013). Cette filière a fait l’objet d’une profonde réhabilitation sur le plan politique, puisque les oliviers sont progressivement devenus l’icône du peuple palestinien et le symbole de sa lutte contre l’occupation. Tout en analysant la manière dont l’occupation bouleverse en profondeur leur environnement, l’étude envisage les Palestiniens comme des acteurs qui apprennent à contourner les restrictions israéliennes en développant des pratiques spécifiques et de nouveaux réseaux. L’analyse interroge notamment le rôle ambigu que jouent les acteurs étrangers, de plus en plus nombreux à se rendre en Cisjordanie pour des raisons professionnelles, touristiques, mais aussi militantes. Les oliviers palestiniens constituent un vecteur privilégié pour canaliser aussi bien les flux d’aide internationale que les manifestations de solidarité, ce qui génère de nombreuses retombées politiques et économiques. Des acteurs variés ont ainsi développé un large éventail de projets de développement, de services touristiques et de produits vendus au nom de la solidarité avec les Palestiniens, autour de l’oléiculture. En participant à ces nouveaux marchés, ils se soumettent à des contraintes qui les obligent à modifier leurs modes de faire, leurs discours, et leurs réseaux. Partant de l’étude des transformations des pratiques oléicoles sous l’effet de la politique de séparation, ce travail ouvre plus globalement sur une analyse de « l’économie de la séparation » et des relations entre les différents acteurs des espaces israélo-palestiniens / This research focuses on the socio-economic adaptation of the Palestinian olive oil sector in the face of Israeli control and separation schemes (1993-2013). This sector has benefited from a deep political rehabilitation, since olive trees have gradually become the icon of the Palestinian people and the symbol of their struggle against the occupation. While analyzing how the occupation devices deeply disrupt their environment, the study considers the Palestinians as active players who are learning to bypass Israeli restrictions by developing specific practices, formal and informal, and developing new networks. The analysis also focuses on the central role played by the growing number of foreigners in the West Bank (business people, tourists, pilgrims or activists). Palestinian olive trees are an opportune channel for both international aid and demonstrations of solidarity, generating many political and economic benefits. Various people have developed a wide range of development projects, tourist services and products sold in the name of solidarity with the Palestinians. By participating in these new markets, they undergo logistical and competitive constraints that force them to change their practices, their speeches and their networks. These interactions involve indeed a reorganization of economic practices but also a change in power, dependence and hierarchy relations between all the stakeholders. Based on the study of the transformations of olive practices as a result of the separation policy, this work opens more broadly into an analysis of "the separation of the economy" and the relationships between both the inhabitants and the visitors of Israeli-Palestinian lands.

No description available.

Existe-t-il un pluralisme démocratique, une démocratie différente de celle des normes « occidentales » ? C’est la question que nous nous sommes posés dans notre recherche, en partant sur une hypothèse affirmative, dans un contexte spécifique qui est celui de l’alliance communément contestée entre démocratie et religion. Nous avons décidé de nous pencher sur les démocraties du Proche-Orient, sur leurs particularismes liés au rapport étroit qui existe dans ces pays entre politique et religion. Les pays de la région qui sembleraient à nos yeux les plus démocratiques à ce jour sont le Liban, Israël (en incluant une étude des Territoires palestiniens également), et la Turquie. En tenant pour principes démocratiques l’égalité et la liberté, présents dans leurs constitutions respectives, nous avons décidé d’étudier les spécificités de chaque pays ; celui d’être un Etat confessionnel pour le Liban, un Etat Juif pour Israël, un Etat sans Etat pour les Territoires palestiniens, un Etat à la fois laïc, turc, et islamique pour la Turquie. Il existe des failles démocratiques dans chacun de ses Etats, que nous avons mises en évidence, tout comme des évolutions positives. Le nationalisme présent dans chacun de ces pays est particulièrement prononcé, selon les différentes communautés d’appartenances, ce qui fait de l’appartenance ethnique principale une appartenance nationale ; d’où notre choix ambitieux d’appeler ces Etats des démocraties ethniques, se basant sur l’ethnos (l’appartenance communautaire du peuple). C’est aussi en raison de cette condition qu’ils connaissent surtout des lacunes vis-à-vis de la reconnaissance d’autres appartenances, leurs minorités respectives. / Does a democratic pluralism exist, implying a democracy different from the "Western" standards? Based on a positive assumption, this is the question that we attempt to answer to in this research within a specific framework, namely the commonly contested alliance between democracy and religion. We have decided to study Middle-Eastern democracies with their specificities related to the narrow link that exists in those countries between politics and religion. The countries of the area that seemed, as of today, the most democratic to us are Lebanon, Israel (including a study of the Palestinian Territories) and Turkey. Based on the democratic principles of Equality and Liberty, also present in their respective constitutions, we have decided to look into the specificities of each country; such as being a confessional state for Lebanon, a Jewish state for Israel, a state without a state for the Palestinian Territories and a state being at the same time secular, Turkish and Islamic for Turkey. In each of these countries there are democratic flaws that we have highlighted, as well as positive evolutions. The Nationalism present in each of these countries is particularly pronounced according to the different communities to which one belongs, which leads the main ethnic to become a national identification, hence our ambitious choice to name these states ethnic democracies based on the ethnos (people's identification to a community). It is also because of this specificity that they encounter weaknesses towards the recognition of other identifications such as their respective minorities.

The theme of this diploma thesis is the analysis of the legal status of Palestine. The theoretical part of this thesis examines the history of Palestine, the relations between Palestine and Israel, the rejection of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 by Arab states, Palestinian membership in international organisations, the Oslo I Accord and the Montevideo criteria for statehood.The thesis also evaluates the final status negotiations between Israel and Palestine and various Palestinian government programs. The second part of the thesis analyses the constraints posed by divided Palestinian territories and the dynamics and interactions between Palestinian populations living in and outside the territory. Furthermore this diploma thesis focuses on the Palestinian public sector; especially on the areas of justice, education, health system and defense. Individual chapters also deal with the economic instability of Palestine and its financial dependence on the other, mostly European, countries. In conclusion, this diploma thesis will give not only a comprehensive legal view of the status of Palestine, but also views on Palestinian governance.

The following dissertation develops a theoretical framework for guiding the strategy of democratic states in successfully countering the hostilities of nationalistic substate terrorist organizations (NSTOs), and effectively manipulating the terrorist group’s (and its supporting elements’) decision-making calculus. In particular, the theory of strategic coercion has been chosen as a basis for formulating this framework, based upon: 1) the invaluable guidance it offers in dynamically drawing upon all instruments of national power—economic, diplomatic, military, etc.—to accomplish politico-strategic objectives; and 2) the unique insights it provides into making strategic moves aimed at influencing the choices taken by an adversary. However, strategic coercion theory as it currently stands is inadequate for applications against substate terrorist organizations. As a quintessential cornerstone for prescriptive policy in strategic studies, such a looming deficiency vis-à-vis one the most important security threats of the modern age is unacceptable. The new theoretical framework established in this dissertation—entitled the Balance Theory of strategic coercion—addresses this deficiency. The Balance Theory stresses that three key coercive elements of strategic coercion are fundamentally important for successfully ending the hostilities posed by NSTOs, being: A) Isolation of external/international support; B) Denial; and C) Isolation of popular support. It posits that these three aspects of strategic coercion serve as the sine qua non for success in countering an NSTO’s campaign of violence and effectively manipulating its decision-making process. Implementation of these three elements, moreover, must be pursued in tandem, taking care so as not to sacrifice one aspect for the other. The Balance Theory is tested through the employment of case-study analysis. In pursuing this end, both cross-case and within-case analyses are performed, accompanied by the utilization of the methods of focused, structured comparison. The cases examined are those of: 1) The United Kingdom versus Republican NSTOs (1969-2007); and 2) Israel versus Palestinian NSTOs (1967-present). The dissertation concludes with an examination of how the Balance Theory may provide insights for the formulation of counter-terrorism strategy against Al Qaeda in the current "War on Terror".