The rapid proliferation of North-South preferential trade agreements (PTAs) during the last quarter century has had broad implications for developing and emerging economies. As a result of North-South power asymmetries and the aggressive trade policy that has been characterized as ‘competitive liberalization,’ it has been argued that these agreements have produced asymmetric results in favor of Northern countries. This thesis advances a novel approach in the assessment of North-South preferential trade relations that goes beyond the simplistic interpretation of North-South trade politics as a phenomenon largely dominated by North-South power asymmetries. By acknowledging that not all North-South PTAs have the same characteristics, this thesis divides North-South PTAs into two sequential categories: first-order, i.e., Southern countries’ first North-South PTAs and second-order, i.e., Southern countries’ subsequent North-South PTAs. The thesis argues that, while first-order North-South PTA negotiations can produce asymmetric outcomes in favor of Northern countries because they have the ability to exert discriminative pressure on Southern countries, second-order North-South PTA negotiations follow a different logic. Having secured preferential access to Northern markets through first-order PTAs, Southern countries become immune to competitive pressures and can themselves exert discriminative pressure on Northern countries during second-order negotiations. The thesis examines the North-South PTA negotiations of Mexico, Chile, Korea, Colombia, and Peru, five countries of the Global South that have been especially active in North-South preferential trade. Based on the author’s personal interviews with EU and US trade officials and primary and secondary sources, this thesis conducts process tracing to account for the process of the five Southern countries’ first-order and second-order North-South PTA negotiations and reveal the impact of first-order North-South PTAs on the bargaining powers of Southern countries in second-order negotiations and hence the outcomes of second-order agreements. The thesis concludes that, albeit to varying extents, first-order agreements improve the bargaining powers of Southern countries in second-order North-South trade negotiations.

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The notion of “convenance” has only recently attracted the attention of Montesquieu scholars, who have repeatedly stated its centrality to the author's thought, as well as a certain inherent ambiguity. This thesis firstly explores the history of the concept, starting from some existing studies that have laid the foundations for a research in this direction. In its Latin version (“convenientia”), the concept’s first philosophical appearance is due to Cicero, as a translation of certain notions from Stoic philosophy. The notion acquires then a non-secondary place in scholastic thought, finding application in different fields, from logic to theology and morality. In the Modern Age, the concept of “convenientia” becomes of great relevance in the moral and legal spheres: among others, Grotius, Pufendorf, Malebranche or Leibniz develop or rework differently the scholastic and stoic traditions where it was employed. Through these channels the notion of “convenientia” can reach the young author of the Persian Letters, who employs it in his ambiguous definition of justice as a “rapport de convenance” (letter 81). The study of the sources and the analysis of the major issues linked to this definition of justice singularly benefit from this retrospective look at the possible philosophical traditions where this notion of “convenance” is employed. On the basis of this examination of the texts, the thesis advanced is that the expression “rapport de convenance” denotes only the a priori or formal aspect of justice, which elsewhere the author designates as “rapport d’équité”. If “convenance” designates the universal and invariable aspect of justice, a study of its content, which is variable and relative, must lead to the various orders of law: natural, civil, political. The investigation thus crosses a second axis of relevance of the concept of “convenance” in Montesquieu’s work, namely the question of the relativity or “convenance” of laws to the people for whom they are established, on which the entire structure of the Spirit of Laws rests. This second (and very much Aristotelian) axis is the subject of a classification in the thesis. Human laws and institutions can be understood according to different planes of “convenance”: general, structural, local. Pivotal concepts in Montesquieu’s work, such as political freedom, moderation, “esprit général”, nature and principle of government, can then be understood in this articulation between “convenance à la société” in general and “convenance à chaque société” in particular, according to a structural or typological logic or according to a singular and local one. The scholastic usages inherited and reworked by the moderns include one that some french scholars have recently designated as the “argument de convenance”, i.e. the idea that God works in the simplest ways and always chooses the best. The thesis investigates the presence of this argument in Montesquieu, suggesting that the author conceives it above all as a principle of the “economy of nature”. Moreover, it is argued that this principle, while secularizing the traditional “argument de convenance”, acquires a fundamentally political significance: the art of legislation exiges to govern men by economising on violent means, that is, without doing violence to the natural inclinations of citizens and their freedom. In general, the study of Montesquieu’s thought through the lens of the notion of “convenance” allows one to better grasp the connection between the method of the art of legislation and the political and ideological objectives of his work, first and foremost the opposition to a despotic exercise of power.

No / The paper presents a 2-D large eddy simulation (LES) modelling approach to investigate the properties of the plunging waves. The numerical model is based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. SPH is a mesh-free Lagrangian particle approach which is capable of tracking the free surfaces of large deformation in an easy and accurate way. The Smagorinsky model is used as the turbulence model due to its simplicity and effectiveness. The proposed 2-D SPH-LES model is applied to a cnoidal wave breaking and plunging over a mild slope. The computations are in good agreement with the documented data. Especially the computed turbulence quantities under the breaking waves agree better with the experiments as compared with the numerical results obtained by using the k- model. The sensitivity analyses of the SPH-LES computations indicate that both the turbulence model and the spatial resolution play an important role in the model predictions and the contributions from the sub-particle scale (SPS) turbulence decrease with the particle size refinement.

This thesis investigates the characteristics of a close proximity underwater explosion and its effect on a ship-like structure. Finite element model tests are conducted to verify and validate the propagation of a pressure wave generated by an underwater explosion through a fluid medium, and the transmission of the pressure wave in the fluid to a structure using the Multi-Material Arbitrary Lagrangian/Eulerian method. A one dimensional case modeling the detonation of a spherical TNT charge underwater is investigated. Three dimensional cases modeling the detonation of an underwater spherical TNT charge, and US Navy Blast Test cases modeling a shape charge and a circular steel plate, and a shape charge and a Sandwich Plate System (SPS) are also investigated. This thesis provides evidence that existing tools and methodologies have some capability for predicting early-time/close proximity underwater explosion effects, but are insufficient for analyses beyond the arrival of the initial shock wave. This thesis shows that a true infinite boundary condition, a modified Gruneisen equation of state near the charge, and the ability to capture shock without a very small element size is needed in order to provide a sufficient means for predicting early-time/close proximity underwater explosion effects beyond the arrival of the initial shock wave. / Master of Science

This dissertation investigates how agricultural trade frictions, such as tariffs and non-tariff measures (NTMs), impact trade competitiveness and globalization in the agricultural sector. The dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter argues that agricultural trade cost evolution differs from other sectors due to frequent regulations, standards, and the unique physical characteristics of agricultural products. We measure agricultural trade costs in the 21st century using a three-step estimation procedure based on structural gravity models. Our findings reveal unequal integration of world economies into agricultural trade, with heterogeneous trade costs among countries. Only high-income countries have achieved lower agricultural trade costs between 2001 to 2018. The chapter concludes by demonstrating that while standard country characteristics are important, trade policy tools such as agricultural tariff rates, trade agreements, provisions in deep trade agreements, as well as logistics and infrastructure systems, significantly impact agricultural trade costs. In the second chapter, we assess the impact of non-tariff measures on U.S. agricultural exports as these measures have become increasingly important in global agricultural trade. Despite a vast empirical literature, the universe of NTMs is large and diverse, making it difficult to understand trade and export survival in the face of restrictive non-tariff regulatory measures. Moreover, the sheer number of NTMs collected and notified makes it difficult for researchers to disentangle and quantify measures that are burdensome for exporters from those that are largely inconsequential. In this chapter, we follow a different approach and create an NTM dataset consisting of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT) measures from the National Trade Estimate Report of the United States Trade Representative. Using this dataset, we quantify the impact of SPS and TBT measures on U.S. agricultural exports. We find that the existence of NTM measures reduces U.S. agricultural exports by 34%, an effect equivalent to an 8% ad-valorem tariff. Furthermore, we find that these NTMs do not increase the probability of U.S. agricultural exports stopping. In the third chapter, we employ a recently developed method to estimate the border effects of the USA and competitive agricultural exporters to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We use recent advances in structural gravity modeling to estimate international border effects, incorporating intra-national trade. We present the differences in border effects relative to USA exports to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in ad valorem equivalent (AVE) tariffs. Our findings reveal substantial differences in USA agricultural border effects between relatively more integrated NAFTA partners and the SSA region, equivalent to a 43% AVE tariff, while for competitive suppliers, these AVEs range from 3% to 46%. The chapter concludes with a general equilibrium experiment stimulating a 20% reduction in border effects. Results indicate significant increases in SSA's imports, as well as welfare gains for both SSA and partner countries subject to border liberalization, with larger effects observed in SSA countries. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation investigates how agricultural trade frictions, such as tariffs and non-tariff measures (NTMs), impact trade competitiveness and globalization in the agricultural sector. The dissertation consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, we estimate a trade costs dataset and document how agricultural trade costs have evolved in the 21st century. Using this newly created trade costs dataset, we argue that there is an unequal integration of world economies into agricultural trade. We show that trade costs are heterogeneous among countries, with only high-income countries achieving lower agricultural trade costs between 2001 to 2018. In the last section of this chapter, we demonstrate that while standard country characteristics play a significant role, trade policy tools such as agricultural tariff rates, trade agreements, and provisions in deep trade agreements, as well as logistics and infrastructure systems, significantly impact agricultural trade costs. In the second chapter, we assess the impact of non-tariff measures on U.S. agricultural exports. Specifically, we created an NTM dataset consisting of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT) measures from the National Trade Estimate Report of the United States Trade Representative. Using this dataset, we quantified the impact of SPS and TBT measures on U.S. agricultural exports. We find that the existence of NTM measures reduces U.S. agricultural exports by 34%, an effect equivalent to an 8% ad-valorem tariff. Furthermore, we find that these NTMs do not increase the probability of U.S. agricultural exports stopping. In the third chapter, we employ a recently developed method to estimate the border effects of the USA and competitive agricultural exporters to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We use recent advances in the structural gravity model to estimate international border effects, incorporating intra-national trade. We present the differences in border effects relative to USA exports to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in ad valorem equivalent (AVE) tariffs. Our findings reveal substantial differences in USA agricultural border effects between relatively more integrated NAFTA partners and the SSA region, equivalent to a 43% AVE tariff, while for competitive suppliers, these AVEs range from 3% to 46%. The chapter concludes with a general equilibrium experiment of a 20% reduction in border effects. Results indicate significant increases in SSA's imports, as well as welfare gains for both SSA and partner countries subject to border liberalization, with larger effects observed in SSA countries.

No longer a distant frontier, the Arctic has become a space of concerns and opportunities for the people living in the region, as well as for external actors, due to climate change and increasing possibilities to further exploit Arctic resources. The EU is present in the region through its Arctic Council Member States, namely Sweden, Finland, and the Kingdom of Denmark (by virtue of Greenland and the Faroe Islands). However, the EU often appears to struggle to achieve the necessary legitimacy, identity, and strategies to be accepted as a credible Arctic actor. By combining the international relations theories of constructivism and critical geopolitics, this dissertation investigates the EU’s ‘actorness’, defined as an actor’s capacity to imagine its own and others’ roles in a policy context. Furthermore, this research proposes a revised use of the concept of actorness as a tool to understand the formulation of foreign policies, rather than their impact or effectiveness. Through extensive document analysis and the conduction of qualitative interviews, this study sheds light on how the actorness of the EU Commission, the EU Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the EU Arctic Member States coherently constructs the EU’s capabilities to participate in Arctic governance, highlighting the convergence or divergence of their Arctic policies. This dissertation’s results show that the EU’s limited role is coherent with its Arctic Member States’ support for intergovernmental governance, and with the contradictory goals that all of them share –such as balance between environmental protection, exploitation of energy resources, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights. These ii conclusions suggest that Arctic governance is a complex matter for both the EU Institutions and the Arctic Member States, whose primary responsibility for the region’s welfare also suffers from fragmented visions of their roles in, and objectives for, the Arctic.

La tesi di dottorato “Costituzione e Repubblica a Roma 1848-1849” si occupa di offrire una ricostruzione del retroterra ideologico che condusse tra l’autunno del Quarantotto e la primavera del Quarantanove a instaurare a Roma un sistema politico e istituzionale di tipo repubblicano, confermato poi, a posteriori, anche da una Costituzione-bandiera che tale sistema intendeva consegnare alla storia come simbolo della libertà della penisola da ogni condizionamento imposto dall’alto da potenze straniere, sia reazionarie come l’impero austriaco sia anche liberali come la Francia del 1848. Al netto di qualunque valutazione teologica, la ricostruzione degli eventi dall’ascesa al soglio pontificio di Pio IX nel 1846 al crollo della Repubblica romana nel luglio del 1849 si inserisce in una lettura dell’esperienza del tornante Quarantotto-Quarantanove sotto la lente delle aspettative, dei progetti e delle idee che animavano l’opinione pubblica di quei mesi e prova a seguire le suggestioni provenienti dalla più aggiornata storiografia sul Risorgimento. L’obiettivo è quello di comprendere in quale misura il progetto democratico fosse stato elaborato e abbracciato dai rivoluzionari romani in quanto intimamente convinti della necessità di abbattere lo Stato costituzionale inaugurato con lo Statuto fondamentale di Pio IX e valutare la caratura repubblicana di coloro che, effettivamente, la Repubblica a Roma finirono per fondarla. Infatti, proprio all’interno del contesto di instabilità scaturito dal vuoto di potere determinato dalla fuga del Papa a seguito dell’assassinio del ministro dell’Interno Pellegrino Rossi nel novembre 1848, la classe dirigente moderata lasciata acefala e in balia di un crescente malcontento che sarebbe potuto sfociare in anarchia, dovette farsi democratica e repubblicana. Per questa ragione la tesi introduce le categorie di ‘democratici d’occasione’ e ‘repubblicani per necessità’: i protagonisti della vicenda romana dovettero adeguarsi alla nuova situazione politica venuta a crearsi dall’assenza del capo dello Stato. Con questa lettura della vicenda costituzionale e istituzionale della Repubblica romana la presente tesi intenderebbe integrare e aggiornare la letteratura sul tema che si è sviluppata su vari filoni, storiografici e ideologici diversi ma lasciando quasi sempre in ombra gli aspetti istituzionali e costituzionali. Dall’analisi dei dibattiti in Assemblea, infatti, è stato possibile ricostruire le traiettorie lungo le quali i costituenti si mossero nel governare l’emergenza, nel tentativo di normalizzarla ma guardando comunque con nostalgia all’ordinamento precedente, di cui tentarono di ibridare le forme all’interno della nuova Repubblica.

The dissertation investigates gender inequalities in Italian academia concerning career progression and tenure, and how these inequalities intersect with parenthood and fertility. Structured around three empirical chapters, it examines the impact of parenthood on men's and women's academic careers and how academic progression influences men's and women's fertility behaviour. The research uses an extensive empirical dataset, including administrative records of PhD holders and unique primary data collected from Italian academics. Advanced regression-based techniques and event history analysis are applied to analyse the data. The first chapter focuses on the academic journey from PhD to employment, assessing potential gender differences in career choices. The second chapter examines gender differences in academic progression in terms of the time elapsed between obtaining a PhD and being appointed to different academic positions, assessing the role of fertility in contributing to gender disparities. The third chapter aims to understand how academic careers shape the fertility behaviour of academic women and men. The findings shed light on the complex interplay between gender, parenthood and academic careers, revealing significant challenges faced by women in academia, particularly in terms of career progression and balancing fertility decisions.