Au cours des années 2000, deux mobilisations parallèles ont contribué à renouveler le paysage de l’écologie politique : la décroissance en France, et les Transition Towns au Royaume-Uni. Nous proposons une approche comparative internationale de ces deux mouvements, d’abord distincts, mais qui se sont progressivement imbriqués à mesure qu’ils s’internationalisaient. Nous nous intéresserons particulièrement à la dimension catastrophiste de ces deux mouvements, entendue comme un mode de pensée politique fondé sur l’anticipation de ruptures écologiques majeures (pic pétrolier, mais aussi réchauffement climatique ou effondrement écosystémique) qui mettraient fin à la version moderne du projet démocratique. Loin de n’être qu’une posture intellectuelle, le catastrophisme s’incarne dans ces mouvements en des pratiques délibératives expérimentales qui invitent à questionner la temporalité continuiste dans laquelle se conçoit généralement la théorie démocratique.L’étude de ces deux mobilisations vise à nourrir une réflexion d’ordre plus théorique sur les outils dont dispose la science politique pour penser l’insertion des communautés politiques dans leur environnement. En nous appuyant sur les travaux pionniers de la green political theory, nous montrerons qu’une théorie politique environnementale pourrait contribuer à interroger la théorie démocratique en invitant à la réinsérer dans un contexte de déstabilisation écologique globale. / During the 2000’s decade, two social movements, the décroissance movement in France and Transition Towns in the United- Kingdom, have contributed, both in parallel, to a renewal of the green political landscape. This thesis is an international comparative analysis of these two movements, which were first distinct, then progressively overlapped as they evolved to become international. This research will focus in particular on the catastrophist dimension of these two movements, understood as a form of political thought based on the anticipation of major ecological shifts (peak oil, climatechange, ecosystems collapse, etc.) that would put an end to the modern version of the democratic project. Far from being an intellectual framework only, catastrophism also gives rise to experimental deliberative practices that put into question the hypothesis of continuity that generally pervades theories of democracy.The analysis of these two movements aims at proposing new material to provide for a theoretical reflection on the intellectual tools that political science uses to investigate the ecological embeddedness of political communities. Dwelling on the pioneer work of green political theory, we will suggest that a théorie politique environnementale could contribute to reconsider theories of democracy, with an invitation for them to fit within the framework of the global ecological disruption.

The Russian-Ukrainian relationship is inherently complex. Since the end of the Cold War, there have been several defining moments in this relationship, which have contributed to how Russia perceives any potential challenges to its security. Securitising discourse from Russian political leadership, namely the President, offers an insight into what aspects of this relationship are escalated so extensively that extreme courses of action may be deemed necessary (i.e., a full-scale invasion of Ukraine). Drawing on Buzan et al. (1998), this project identifies the key sectors that Russia politicises, and those that it securitises vis-à-vis Ukraine. In addition, this study highlights the key sub-themes within politicisation and securitisation that were found within these sectors. This is all within a timeframe where relations have moved from comparatively stable to a time of war (February 2019 – February 2023). There is some degree of overlap between the themes politicised and securitised, especially across the military, political, societal, and economic sectors of security. There were no cases of securitisation within the environmental sector. Overall, this study found a significant shift in Russia’s securitisation framing of Ukraine from mid-2021 onwards.

Intelligence, having espionage as its roots, is sometimes misunderstood due to its secret nature. It is due to this that intelligence as a vital component in a state, could be misused by the political regime through less democratic practices that infringe on human rights and the rule of law. The quest of this study (which is not classified, to make the research findings available to both practitioners and scholars of intelligence studies), is to attempt to contribute to the theory and understanding of intelligence studies as a sub-field within the political science in describing, explaining and analysing the intelligence regime. The primary aim is to provide a contextualised and systematic overview of the South African intelligence regime within the framework of the democratisation process in South Africa with specific reference to the period from 1994 to 2014. This study analyses the intelligence regime in South Africa by specifically assessing the role, function and purpose of intelligence through history and within the context of the South African political regime. Therefore, the research problem examined in this study is: given the history and development of South Africa as a democracy, what is the role and function of the intelligence regime during the period 1994 to 2014 – specifically to determine whether intelligence practices were more or less democratic. The theoretical framework formed the basis from which the concepts of state, political regime types and form and degree of government, was explored. It furthermore provided for a comparison of democratic and non-democratic intelligence practices. The study locates intelligence as a reflection of the political regime through the simultaneous typology of both the regime and intelligence, thereby to enable the identification of more or less democratic practices. The notion of a hybrid regime, as having elements of both democratic and non-democratic regimes, presented a fundamental shift in the perception of South Africa‘s democratisation process towards an attempt to reach the goal of being a consolidated democracy. This study draw the conclusion that the role, functions and mandate of an intelligence service within a democracy, should firstly focus on providing the policy-maker with intelligence to be able to make policies; secondly on the identification of threats or potential threats to national security of the state and lastly to protect the constitution. This would ultimately enable the intelligence regime in South Africa to employ more democratic practices which could assist in reaching the goal of democratic consolidation. / MA (Political Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Intelligence, having espionage as its roots, is sometimes misunderstood due to its secret nature. It is due to this that intelligence as a vital component in a state, could be misused by the political regime through less democratic practices that infringe on human rights and the rule of law. The quest of this study (which is not classified, to make the research findings available to both practitioners and scholars of intelligence studies), is to attempt to contribute to the theory and understanding of intelligence studies as a sub-field within the political science in describing, explaining and analysing the intelligence regime. The primary aim is to provide a contextualised and systematic overview of the South African intelligence regime within the framework of the democratisation process in South Africa with specific reference to the period from 1994 to 2014. This study analyses the intelligence regime in South Africa by specifically assessing the role, function and purpose of intelligence through history and within the context of the South African political regime. Therefore, the research problem examined in this study is: given the history and development of South Africa as a democracy, what is the role and function of the intelligence regime during the period 1994 to 2014 – specifically to determine whether intelligence practices were more or less democratic. The theoretical framework formed the basis from which the concepts of state, political regime types and form and degree of government, was explored. It furthermore provided for a comparison of democratic and non-democratic intelligence practices. The study locates intelligence as a reflection of the political regime through the simultaneous typology of both the regime and intelligence, thereby to enable the identification of more or less democratic practices. The notion of a hybrid regime, as having elements of both democratic and non-democratic regimes, presented a fundamental shift in the perception of South Africa‘s democratisation process towards an attempt to reach the goal of being a consolidated democracy. This study draw the conclusion that the role, functions and mandate of an intelligence service within a democracy, should firstly focus on providing the policy-maker with intelligence to be able to make policies; secondly on the identification of threats or potential threats to national security of the state and lastly to protect the constitution. This would ultimately enable the intelligence regime in South Africa to employ more democratic practices which could assist in reaching the goal of democratic consolidation. / MA (Political Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

No abstract available in dissertation / Politicisation of identities, negotiations and transition in a conflict society / Ethics of a genocide-free Burundi / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.A. (Philosophy)

Que recouvre la politisation des enfants ? Entendue comme synonyme de la socialisation politique, elle désigne traditionnellement l'ensemble des mécanismes et des processus de formation et de transformation des systèmes individuels de représentations, d'opinions et d'attitudes politiques. Elle est aussi l'attribution aux enfants d'un degré d'intégration au sein du monde politique. Cette thèse étudie les différentes dimensions de la socialisation politique des enfants, en analysant à quelles conception du politique les enfants sont amenés à être exposés. Réfléchir en termes d'expositions suppose de se détacher d'une vision développementaliste qui associerait la socialisation politique à l'acquisition linéaire d'un contenu cumulatif. Dans cette optique, la socialisation politique se présente comme une juxtaposition de moments au cours desquels se présentent diverses conceptions du politique, de la recherche du consensus à la capacité à proposer des situations conflictuelles, en passant par des apprentissages centrés sur les procédures électorales et les institutions. Ainsi, les instances étudiées, deux conseils municipaux d'enfants, des écoles primaires et une association de lecture d'albums pour enfants offrent des épisodes de socialisation politique. Il s'avère que les contenus de chaque type de socialisation dépendent étroitement des représentations que l'on se fait des enfants quant à leur capacité à être des acteurs politiques, et des contraintes sociales de contextes d'étude qui associent à des degrés de facilité divers enfance et politique.Que recouvre la politisation des enfants ? Entendue comme synonyme de la socialisationpolitique, elle désigne traditionnellement l'ensemble des mécanismes et des processus de formation et de transformation des systèmes individuels de représentations, d'opinions et d'attitudes politiques. Elle est aussi l'attribution aux enfants d'un degré d'intégration au sein du monde politique. Cette thèse étudie les différentes dimensions de la socialisation politique des enfants, en analysant à quelles conception du politique les enfants sont amenés à être exposés. Réfléchir en termes d'expositions suppose de se détacher d'une vision développementaliste qui associerait la socialisation politique à l'acquisition linéaire d'un contenu cumulatif. Dans cette optique, la socialisation politique se présente comme une juxtaposition de moments au cours desquels se présentent diverses conceptions du politique, de la recherche du consensus à la capacité à proposer des situations conflictuelles, en passant par des apprentissages centrés sur les procédures électorales et les institutions. Ainsi, les instances étudiées, deux conseils municipaux d'enfants, des écoles primaires et une association de lecture d'albums pour enfants offrent des épisodes de socialisation politique. Il s'avère que les contenus de chaque type de socialisation dépendent étroitement des représentations que l'on se fait des enfants quant à leur capacité à être des acteurs politiques, et des contraintes sociales de contextes d'étude qui associent à des degrés de facilité divers enfance et politique. / What covers children politization? Understood as the synonym of political socialisation, it traditionally points to all the mechanisms and processes of construction and transformation of individual systems of representation, opinions and political behaviour. It is also understood as a certain level of entry of children into the political sphere.This work studied the different dimensions of children's political socialisation, determining which political concept children can be exposed to. Thinking in terms of exposition implies to detach oneself from the vision of associating political socialisation to the accumulation of norms and values that add to each other, implying that once an individual acquires a norm, he will never act against it. With this in mind, political socialisation is also an addition of moments during which various political concepts come by: from the search for an unanimous approval to the capacity of proposing conflictual situations, via trainings focusing on electoral procedures and institutions. Therefore, observed instances, 2 children municipal councils, primary schools and a reading club for children provide political socialisation moments. It turns out that concepts of each type of socialisationdepend strongly on how we consider the children capacity to be political actors, and on social restrictions in a studying environment related to the more or less easy association of childhood and politics.

No abstract available in dissertation / Politicisation of identities, negotiations and transition in a conflict society / Ethics of a genocide-free Burundi / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.A. (Philosophy)

Comment parler de sexualité à l’École ? Cette question controversée trouve une première réponse officielle en 1973, dans une circulaire du ministère de l’Éducation nationale intitulée « information et éducation sexuelles » : c'est le début de la politique d'éducation à la sexualité en milieu scolaire en France. Depuis, les réponses apportées à cette même question ont évolué et ont fait l'objet d'affrontements entre différents acteurs. Et si la ligne de front est mouvante, celle-ci se structure toujours autour d'un même enjeu : la définition du public et du privé en matière de sexualité. Cette thèse propose de s'intéresser à cette frontière qui structure la politique d’éducation à la sexualité des années 1970 à nos jours, au prisme de trois histoires qui se déroulent des bureaux du ministère jusque dans la salle de classe. La première intrigue est celle d'un « récit de guerre », où des troupes de volontaires se relaient depuis les années 1970 pour définir ce que l’École a le droit de dire ou non aux enfants. La seconde est une incursion au cœur des stratégies élaborées par les institutions étatiques pour rendre légitime le rôle de l’École dans l'éducation à la sexualité. Enfin, le troisième récit s'apparente à une pièce de théâtre parfois comique, parfois tragique, sans rideau rouge et devant le tableau noir de la salle de classe. / How to talk about sexuality at school ? This controversial question was first officially answered in 1973 in a circular from the Ministry of National Education entitled « Information and sexual education ». This was the beginning of the public policy of sex education in the French school environment. Since then, the answers to this same question have evolved and have been the subject of clashes betweendifferent actors. If the battle line has been shifting, there has been a core stake : the definition of public and private in terms of sexuality. This Ph.D proposes to focus on this boundary that structures sex education policy from the 1970s to the present day, through the lens of three stories that unfold from the ministry's offices to the classroom. The first plot is that of a "war story", where troops of volunteers have been taking turns since the 1970s to define what the School is allowed to say or not to say to children. The second is an incursion into the heart of the strategies developed by state institutions to legitimize the role of the school in sex education. In the end, the third story appears to be a theatreplay, sometimes comic, sometimes tragic. Yet it does not take place on a stage but in front of the blackboard.

In the period from 2009-2020, South Africa has witnessed the rise of "lawfare". Lawfare is understood as the judicialisation of politics - turning to the courts and the use of the law to resolve broadly political matters. This thesis explores the unfolding implications of the judicialisation of politics for judicial legitimacy. In the displacement of the political into the judicial the reach of the courts is expanded and the legitimacy of courts engaging in a "political" role is questioned. Situated in the field of judicial-political dynamics, the interplay between law and politics is observed through the adoption of a historical-institutionalist model. This thesis identifies the causes of the judicialisation of politics and then traces its consequences for broader constitutional stability and the impact on the judicial institution. Guidelines for the Court to navigate lawfare to achieve institutional resilience and maintain judicial legitimacy are then proposed. Judicialisation of politics is caused primarily through the failures of the other branches of government to fulfil their assigned constitutional role. Institutional imbalance in a dominant party democracy means that opposition parties and civil society organisations are left with little recourse but to appeal to the Court to be a constitutional bulwark. The Court is then compelled to step into the breach and fill the accountability vacuum. In identifying the causes of judicialisation, a fuller understanding of Lawfare emerges, expanding current scholarship beyond its traditionally abusive characterisation. It posits a duality to Lawfare in that it can be both an abuse of law and a last line of defence. Through observing the judicial political interactions, a trajectory from the judicialisation of politics to the politicisation of law is mapped. The politicisation of law sees political power refocused on the courts, exposing them to political aggression and attack by the dominant party. The judicialisation of politics that seeks accountability from recalcitrant political actors asks much of the courts, at a time when ensuring executive oversight is the most dangerous, because of the ease with which a hostile executive in a dominant party democracy can implement measures that may undermine the independence of the judiciary. The Constitutional Court has shown a remarkable ability to navigate this era of Lawfare, remaining resolute under fire. However, the more successful the Court is in holding the line against executive abuse of power, the more the judicial route is identified as a powerful weapon to achieve more abusive political objectives. The relationship between Lawfare and legitimacy is identified as a wicked problem that demands expanding boundaries to observe the courts influence on the political environment, and the political environment's influence on the judicial role and its legitimacy. Through advancing a multi-dimensional paradigm of judicial legitimacy, the dialectics of judicial legitimacy are shown to be aggravated by the judicialisation of politics. In this respect it is argued that where the foundations and assumptions on which legitimacy is predicated shift, legitimacy must be re-examined. It is therefore argued that in a culture marked by an impunified disregard of non-judicial regulatory enforcement and increasing non-compliance with judicial orders, the impulse to preserve legitimacy through a detached, formalist stance will not be sufficient. Judicial legitimacy must be relocated in the ability of the Court to be responsive. Pulled into the role of judicial statesmanship, the Court must adopt a robust approach to assertively uphold the rule of law. In tracking the unfolding consequences of the judicialisation of politics, the Court is asked to resolve matters beyond its institutional capabilities. Absent the normative commitment to the rule of law, the internationalisation of constitutional norms, and the political interest to implement remedial orders, the Court is unable to effect workable relief. In tracing the dangers of the continued trend of Lawfare, the thesis sketches a downward spiral of reputational strength of the Court and a decline in democratic responsibility. This leads to an inability to achieve effective reform that ends in disenchantment, questioning the faith placed in the Constitution. It depicts how the Constitutional Court as 'constitutional saviour' can unravel into constitutional blame. The Constitutional Court has been able to hold the line in this era of Lawfare and repel assaults on its integrity and efforts to undermine its independence. However, without a broader culture of commitment to the rule of law, civil education and a suffusion of constitutional responsibility beyond the judiciary, the Court will not be able to continue to shoulder the weight of what is asked of it. This research depicts a circular model of Lawfare and legitimacy, where Lawfare is predicated on judicial legitimacy, but an overreliance on Lawfare will destroy judicial legitimacy.

Cette recherche interroge les conditions de structuration et de perduration d’un engagement séparé pour les femmes dans les organisations et au sein de mobilisations agricoles bretonnes. Majoritairement composés d’exploitantes installées en couple et situés à la frontière entre associations de défense de l’égalité, cercles de sociabilités professionnelles et groupes de parole, les espaces d’encadrement agricole féminins offrent une occasion idoine de questionner non seulement l’imbrication des identités professionnelles et conjugales dans l’engagement mais également la labilité des usages rhétoriques de l'égalité et du féminisme dans des espaces professionnels non-mixtes. L’analyse de leur position dans l’espace de la représentation agricole questionne le degré d’autonomie des revendications portées au nom des agricultrices, leur influence sur les agendas organisationnels et leur effet sur la construction des carrières militantes. L’enquête s’appuie sur un dispositif cumulant une observation de quatre années des activités formelles et informelles des groupes féminins, une étude de leur documentation professionnelle, un recensement de leurs tribunes dans la presse agricole, auxquels s’ajoutent la réalisation d’entretiens avec les actrices qui y sont engagées et la constitution de données statistiques relatives aux mandats féminins dans les organisations agricoles bretonnes depuis 1990. Sur la base d’une analyse croisant les études de genre, la sociologie du militantisme et celle de la représentation professionnelle agricole, notre thèse consiste à démontrer que les groupes et mobilisations d’agricultrices forgent les contours d’une « cause de femmes » agricole mise sous tutelle des intérêts catégoriels et chevillée à l’idéal normatif de la complémentarité des sexes. En tant que réceptacles de positions professionnelles, organisationnelles et conjugales entrecroisées, les espaces de l’engagement féminin produisent des politisations ambivalentes de ces appartenances multiples, à la fois porteuses de contestation comme de reproduction des hiérarchies sexuées et de l’ordre social et politique. / This research looks into the conditions for the structuring and continuation of a separate female activism within Breton organisations and farmers mobilisations. Mainly made up of professionals living in couples and situated at the intersection between gender equality advocacy groups, professional networks and support groups, farming self-help groups are a case in point to question not only the intertwining of professional and marital identities within activism but also the lability of rhetorical uses of equality and feminism within women-only professional spaces. The analysis of their position within the farmers’ representation spaces makes it compelling to question the degree of autonomy of the claims made in the name of women farmers, their influence upon the setting of professional agendas and their impact on the development of activist careers.Evidence was collected through an apparatus which consisted in the addition of a four-year-long observation of female groups’ formal and informal activities, an analysis of their professional literature, an inventory of their opinion columns inside the farm press, to which can be added semi-structured interviews with women farmers engaged in this activism and the setting up of statistical data about female mandates within Breton farm organisations since the 1990s. Drawing on an analysis which mixes gender studies, sociology of militancy and studies of farming professional representation, this PhD aims to demonstrate that women farmers groups and mobilisations shape the features of a farming “women cause” although it is subordinated to corporatist interests and seen through the lenses of the normative ideal of complementarity between the sexes. Being a repository of interlinked professional, organisational and matrimonial standpoints, female activism spaces lead to the ambivalent politicisation of plural belongings. These multiple affiliations can be a catalyst for protest as well as a way to reproduce sexual hierarchies and social and political order.