The thesis examines the Communist Party in Moscow between 1925 and 1932. Its structure, role and membership are studied, together with its relationship with the population of Moscow. A study is also made of politics in the period, with special reference to the oppositions of the 1920's. Four broad problems are discussed. The first is the relationship between the central Party leadership and the Moscow Committee. Second is the role of the grassroots activist in political life. Thirdly, the failure of the oppositions is studied in detail. Finally, popular influence over the Party is examined with a view to discussing how far the revolution had been 'betrayed' in this period. It is found that the Moscow Committee was less autonomous than other regional organs, but that grassroots initiative played an important part in political life. In general, people were reluctant to engage in formal opposition. This largely explains the defeat of the Left and Right oppositions, who failed to attract significant support. The majority of Muscovites remained apathetic or hostile to the Party, but a core of committed activists within it was responsible for many of the period's achievements. To the extent that they supported and even initiated policy, Stalin's 'great turn' included an element of 'revolution from below'.

This thesis focuses on the emergence and development of two youth opposition campaigns, Kmara in Georgia and Pora in Ukraine, campaigns which were part of the “coloured revolutions” which took place in Eastern Europe in 2003 and 2004. The thesis identifies, analyzes and compares the influence and the role of youth activism in post-communist countries, and attributes a new role to the Kmara and Pora campaigns as vanguards of oppositional protest and transmitters of public grievances in the under-researched context of semi-authoritarian regimes. Two sets of questions are answered in this study, which relate to how and why youth opposition campaigns occurred and developed in Georgia and Ukraine. These questions are addressed through a comparative analysis of the political and social contexts in which narratives on Kmara and Pora are placed. Based on the combination of four main approaches to the study of social movements – viz. political opportunities, resource mobilization, framing processes, and diffusion – the analysis enabled deep insight into various aspects of the emergence and development of Kmara and Pora's campaigns and exposed commonalities and differences between them. The study confirms that the fixed and volatile features that decided on the nature of Georgian and Ukrainian regime provide a key tool for understanding the outburst of youth political activism in a hybrid form of a political system.

Following the devastating riots that took place there in June 2010, the city of Osh (Kyrgyzstan) has been the subject of a number of post-conflict reconstruction projects aimed at rebuilding its damaged urban fabric. As well as being varied in form and approach, these interventions have had a significant impact on the ways that Osh's citizens experience the city. Whilst some residents have welcomed the changes that have been brought about in Osh, others are concerned about what these might mean for their continued wellbeing in the city. By interrogating the shifting relationships between place, identity and collective memory, this thesis explores post-conflict reconstruction in Osh between 2010 and 2013. It seeks to build a clearer picture of urban change in the city over this period, and to unpack the diverse motivations that underpinned the reconstruction projects that were pursued or proposed at that time. Above all, it asks what these changes have meant for Osh residents, many of whom were still reeling from the violence that ripped the city apart in 2010.

This thesis discusses the interaction between inflation, living standards, and political change in Soviet/Russian history. It traces the establishment and evolution of the Soviet monetary system, inflationary episodes, and their consequences. The goal of this study is to show how inflation affects the lives of ordinary people and how it has contributed to larger changes in Soviet history. Sources include economic statistics and analysis from articles and monographs, as well as first-hand accounts from interviews and newspapers. The results show that inflation was a factor in both the rise and the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia's first hyperinflation (1917-1923) nearly destroyed the economy, and the Bolsheviks were forced to stabilize prices. The Soviet system of price controls prevented inflation, but it also created persistent shortages of food and consumer goods. Mikhail Gorbachev tried to alleviate these problems, but his efforts resulted instead in Russia's second hyperinflation (1992-1993).

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock est un physicien largement reconnu par la communauté scientifique pour ses contributions de premier plan aux théories de la mécanique quantique et de la relativité générale. Il est aussi un acteur majeur du débat sur l'interprétation de ces deux théories du XXe siècle, selon une approche qui se revendique clairement du matérialisme dialectique, une idéologie alors largement imposée par les autorités soviétiques en URSS. Notre étude porte principalement sur cet aspect de sa carrière, exploré jusqu'alors de façon trop partielle en histoire des sciences. Plus spécifiquement, nous nous penchons sur les racines scientifiques et philosophiques des interprétations non-orthodoxes des théories de la mécanique quantique et de la relativité générale que développe Fock. En reconstruisant son approche épistémologique nous mettons en évidence que le physicien est guidé par une vision antiréductionniste et réaliste scientifique de sa discipline. Cette base nous donne alors l'assise pour discuter des raisons pour lesquelles le matérialisme dialectique est une véritable influence pour la pensée du physicien soviétique. Par la suite, partant du constat de la sincère adoption par Fock de cette idéologie, nous replaçons la question de l'interprétation des théories de la physique moderne dans son contexte socio-culturel. Il est y notamment question d'observer le parcours du physicien en tant que défenseur des théories de la mécanique quantique et de la relativité face aux différentes attaques politiques et idéologiques qu'elles peuvent subir en Union soviétique, mais aussi d'étudier l'influence du contexte sur la formulation à proprement parler de leurs interprétations et dans un dernier temps de développer les questions relatives à la diffusion des idées de Fock dans la communauté locale et internationale des physiciens. En somme, cette thèse permet de reconsidérer l'intérêt que présente la pensée de Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock dans l'histoire des théories de la physique moderne / Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock is a physicist well-known by the scientific community for his important contributions to the theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity. He is also a major actor in the debate on the interpretation of these two major theories of the XXth century, following an approach that clearly claims dialectical materialism ñ an ideology then largely imposed by the Soviet authorities in the USSR - as fundamental. Our work mostly focuses on this aspect of Fock's career, explored too partially in the history of science. More specifically, we reconsider the scientific and philosophical roots of the non-orthodox interpretations of quantum mechanics and general relativity developed by Fock. By reconstructing his epistemological approach we put forward that the physicist was guided by an antireductionist and a scientific realist conception of his discipline. This basis gives us the possibility to discuss the reasons why dialectical materialism was a real influence on the scientist thought. Thus, by following the observation of the sincere adoption by Fock of the Soviet ideology, we put back the question of the interpretation of the theories of modern physics in its socio-cultural context. We observe Fock's trajectory as a defender of quantum mechanics and relativity theory against the different ideological and political attacks they may undergo in Soviet Union. We also study the influence of context on the actual wording of their interpretations and finally we develop the issues related to their diffusion in the local and worldwide community of physicists. To summarize, this thesis helps to reconsider the interest of Fock's thought in the history of modern physics

This thesis examines the nature and impact of the Reagan administration’s self-described projection of “peace through strength.” It argues that Reagan’s defense spending surge, “Star Wars” (SDI) missile shield policy, and 1983 invasion of Grenada gave the president confidence and political cover that allowed him to withdraw U.S. Marines from Beirut in early 1984. Analysts and commentators focus on his muscular power projection like defense spending, SDI, and the invasion of Grenada, but in practice Reagan exercised a high level of restraint in troop deployment. These projections of power and the avoidance of protracted war in Lebanon gave Reagan further confidence and cover to pursue arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union, against the protestations of anti-Soviet hardliners. Although Reagan supporters have credited the administration with either frightening or bankrupting the Soviets into disarmament, these policies—particularly his military restraint in Lebanon—did more to bring Reagan himself to the negotiation table. These power projection measures contributed to a “peace through strength” narrative embraced by much of Reagan’s domestic audience, allowing him to fend off accusations of Munich-style appeasement. While the defense spending surge helped give Reagan the confidence to ink an arms control agreement, the buildup created nonlinear consequences that will outlive arms control treaties.

\"Construtivistas! Poupem-se de se tornar uma outra escola de estética! O construtivismo deve se tornar a forma superior da engenharia das formas de vida!\" clama Vladimir Maiakóvski no primeiro número da revista de vanguarda LEF, em 1923. De modo implicado com a contradição entre forma e conteúdo do trabalho, esta pesquisa desloca o construtivismo russo do campo da Arte e o toma como objeto de estudos da Geografia, entendendo o princípio de construção (, konstruktsiia) no sentido da produção do espaço que entrelaça as escalas da arquitetura, do urbanismo e do território. Por meio da crítica da economia política do espaço, vê que aquilo que esteticamente aparece como projeto modernista da vanguarda, não tratava de outra coisa senão de um plano de totalidade, inscrito no processo de modernização da sociedade russa pós-revolucionária que tinha na Planificação (econômica e espacial) seu instrumento para a formação do moderno Estado soviético. Neste contexto, a Máquina, paradigma do mundo moderno, concede sua lógica de sistema ao espaço social, de modo que o cotidiano, o plano do vivido, dos acontecimentos, ganha o sentido de \"funcionamento\" centrado na organização do trabalho. A esta utopia da forma corresponde uma ideologia geográfica, ideologia do Planejamento, da operação espacializada do modo de produção. A \"utopia socialista científica da Cidade-Máquina\" apresenta uma totalidade mistificada, pois a imagem racionalizada e tecnológica da sociedade oculta contradições intrínsecas à sua própria lógica. Um século após 1917, as contradições internas da modernização soviética explicitam seu conteúdo oculto: o colapso da União Soviética demonstra como é que o sistema estatal de produção de mercadorias, com o avanço do desenvolvimento das forças produtivas e o consequente agravamento da crise do trabalho, tal como demonstrado por Marx em O Capital, não deu conta de garantir a rentabilidade econômica do Estado nos quadros de um mercado planejado, de modo que precisou se abrir ao mercado global de capitais. Em 2017, os efeitos dessa ficcionalização da economia são flagrados na paisagem de Moscou: os edifícios construtivistas, concebidos com a função de dinamizar a sociabilização de uma realidade produtiva, perdem o sentido do uso para o qual foram planejados; são vistos em ruínas: abandonados, detonados ou incorporados por novos empreendimentos imobiliários e pelo marketing turístico da cidade. A deriva psicogeográfica em campo reacende os conteúdos da relação entre arquitetura e espetáculo. De projeção socialista, o projeto da vanguarda passa à especulação financeira, e demonstra como a exaltação socialista da máquina, celebrada pelos construtivistas, guardava em si o dispositivo crítico para sua própria destruição. / \"Constructivists! Spare yourself from becoming another school of aesthetics! Constructivism must become the superior form of life-forms engineering!\" claims Vladimir Maiakovsky in the first issue of the avant-garde magazine LEF in 1923. Implicated within the contradiction between form and content of work, this research displaces Russian Constructivism from the Art field to take it as subject of study in Geography. In order to do so, the principle of construction (, konstruktsiia) is comprehended in the sense of production of space a concept that interweaves the scales of architecture, urbanism and territory. Through criticism of the political economy of space, this current research regards that what has shown itself as the avant-garde\'s modernist aesthetic project was nothing else but a plan of totality, a \"scientific socialist utopia\", inscribed in the modernization process of Russian revolutionary society. Planning (both economic and spatial) was a tool to the formation of the modern Soviet State. In this context, the figure of the Machine, paradigm of the modern world, grants its logic system to social space, so that everyday life, the plan of the living, gains the sense of an \"operation\" centered on the organization of labor. This utopia of form corresponds with a geographical ideology, ideology of Planning, of the spatial operation of the mode of production. The rationalized and technological image of the \"City-Machine\" presents itself as a mystified totality, since it hides contradictions intrinsic to its own logic. But, a century after 1917, the internal contradictions of Soviet modernization explicit their hidden content. The collapse of Soviet Union demonstrates how the state system of commodity production, with the advance of the development of productive forces and the consequent aggravation of labor crisis (as demonstrated by Marx in The Capital), had failed to guarantee the economic profitability of the state within the limits of a planned market. The solution was to open itself to the global capital market. In 2017, the effects of the financialization of the economy are easily noticed in Moscow landscape: constructivist buildings, designed with the function of dynamizing the sociability of a productive reality, lose the sense for which were originally planned. Those constructions are ruined: abandoned, falling apart or incorporated by new real estate ventures, and even used to the tourist marketing of the city. The on-field psychogeographic derive technique relights the critical contents of the relation between architecture and Spectacle. From a socialist standpoint, the project of the avant-garde turns into a fictitious speculation, and shows how the exaltation of machinery had within itself the germs of its own collapse.

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Bibliography: leaves 651-699. "Through case studies of three emerging economies - Ecuador, Nigeria and Russia - this thesis analyses the factors present to a greater or lesser degree in emerging economies, such as severe foreign indebtedness and the absence of the rule of law, that undermine the effectiveness of the legal system in protecting indigenous peoples from oil exploitation. Having identified these factors, I propose that a dual approach to the protection of indigenous peoples' traditional lands and their environment be adopted, whereby international laws that set out the rights of indigenous peoples and place duties on states in this regard, are reinforced and translated into practice through the self-regulation of the international oil industry through a voluntary code of conduct for oil companies seeking to operate on indigenous peoples' traditional lands."

盛世才在中國現代史上是一叱風雲而又極具爭議性的軍政人物，掌新十二年，周旋於國府與蘇聯間以圖存，是非功過尤多爭論，而中外學者以其與國民政府關係為題的研究，付之闕如，故本論文擬以《盛世才與國民政府關係之研究》為題，期對二者能有忠實的呈現。本論文除緒論及結論外，分為三章，各章要義如下：第一章「初掌新疆政權時期」，主要討論盛氏在新疆的崛起，取得政權的經過。盛氏參與新疆軍事，屢立戰功，被推為臨時邊防督辦，卻未獲得中央支持，致雙方產生疑忌，為了自存，乃尋求蘇聯援助，新疆暫時獲得和平統一。第二章「親蘇容共時期」，盛氏為建設新新疆，困於財力，不得已向蘇聯舉債，推行六大政策，雖使新疆變為中國先進的省區，新疆則從此受蘇聯控制。盛氏收容中共西路軍，予以訓練，使瀕臨崩潰的西路軍餘部發展茁壯。探討盛氏親蘇容共的過程，以勾劃出盛與蘇聯、中共的關係，並了解中央對盛、蘇及中共關係的肆應。第三章「中央勢力入新時期」，蘇聯對新疆各方面的控制，令盛氏不得喘息，乃利用蘇德戰爭擺脫蘇聯的羈絆，內附中央，蘇聯提出嚴厲指責，中央極力維護盛氏，蘇聯只有自新疆撤退，後盛又生反側，中央當機立斷，新疆正式回歸中央。盛氏主新，固有其過錯，但就事情輕重而言，其竭力捍衛新疆，未如外蒙、西藏般被外人入侵，疆土淪失，自有其頁獻，蔣委員長曾論其事：「不費一彈而璧還中央，此為邊疆大吏最大之功績。」「盛世才將省政交還中央，可以將功贖罪。」如專就盛氏此一交權舉動而言，尚為持平之論。