The political uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 created a new political order in the region. This research is aimed at examining how political trust has developed from 2011- 2022 in Tunisia and Egypt. It also aims to understand which variables affect political trust and whether the two countries differ. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the field by using the most recent data up until 2022. The research has been conducted with a comparative quantitative method, using Arab Barometer survey data. The results of the study results align with previous scholars’ results, the political trust declined in both countries after the Arab Spring but the most recent results from Tunisia show that the trust is slightly recovering. The results also indicate that the institutional theories of political trust are the more relevant theories when it comes to explaining political trust in the studied countries.

This qualitative research aims to understand better how the multi-dimensional autonomy facilitated by social media activism influenced the dynamics of the Arab Spring, with a particular focus on the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Based on semi-structured interviews with earlier Egyptian activists, social media significantly provided individuals with platforms to express their opinions more freely, engage in dialogue, and foster a sense of solidarity and empowerment, which enhanced their feeling of autonomy. Moreover, social media provided safe spaces and fostered a sense of unity and collective strength among activists. On the other side, activists faced challenges related to misinformation and censorship, which has affected interviewees’ individual autonomy negatively. This research also highlights the concept of liberty as non-domination and the need for individuals to be free from arbitrary control or interference by others, allowing them to act autonomously. Based on the interviews, the activists faced various forms of domination and control, such as government surveillance and harassment, which limited the extent to which social media could provide a platform for liberty as non-domination. However, the activists demonstrated resilience and adaptability in these challenges.

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This practice-based research addresses the challenges that face the animation practitioner in the Arab region. In engaging with this topic it highlights the contrast with international animation producers, and also seeks to analyse how Arab animation cinema is represented and understood in the West. It introduces Arab animation history, and the animation industry as it currently exists in the Middle East. I suggest the reasons why there have been so few animated shorts and feature-length films successfully produced in the Arab world, in spite of their being a rich literary and cultural heritage. This study reveals a number of cultural, religious, political and economic issues related to Arab animation cinema, both in relation to its history and in regard to its place domestically and internationally. This research explores how YouTube and other social media became the main platform for Arab animation artists to distribute their political works during and since the 'Arab Spring' in the Middle East. The immediate consequence of this is an explosion in the exposure of Arab animation artists and their work to the world, in comparison to the very limited opportunities and freedoms of the past. Moreover, this study seeks to open up a conversation about the possibility of showing animated films that include Arabic content to Western audiences. This is complex in the sense that the place and presence of Arab animated stories are affected by how the representation is perceived within its production context and conditions of exhibition. My research will result in original knowledge, to be made available to Arab filmmakers, the Arab film industry and international academics addressing and championing animation, by engaging with conceptual questions, creating a critical practice methodology, and applying research-led practice methods.

The Maghreb is a geostrategic region which attracts the attention of world powers. However the potential of its growth is limited by numerous problems. The aim of the master thesis is to analyze the position of Maghreb countries in the world economy and the perspectives of their future development. The first chapter concentrates on the economic facts of Maghreb countries with emphasis on their problems, including the preliminary reflections of impacts of the Arab spring on individual economies. The second chapter presents the external economic relations of Maghreb countries on three levels: inside the region, in the Euro-Mediterranean area and in the global dimension. The third chapter deals with the perspectives of Maghreb economies and the possibilities of reaching them. It evaluates the existing success of integration efforts in the region, in the Euro-Mediterranean area, but also the cooperation throughout the world economy.

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.

Beginning in December 2010, Tunisian citizens used techniques of protest, resistance and intervention in a struggle for freedom from the systems that had for decades denied them agency, autonomy and dignity. As a result of their resistance, in January 2011 the Tunisian people successfully deposed the authoritarian president Ben Ali after 23 years in power. Though this movement began spontaneously and operated without designated leadership, the role of the national labor union - The Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) - was vital in mobilizing and directing the uprising. This thesis will interpret the events of the 2011 Tunisian uprising through the framework of civil resistance, as defined by Gene Sharp and Hardy Merriman. Through the use of political defiance and noncooperation, civil resistance employs nonviolent tactics to challenge and remove entrenched political leaders and systems. This study will analyze the Tunisian uprising and the role of the UGTT in the movement using three indicators of civil resistance success: unity, strategic planning, and nonviolent discipline. Despite sporadic incidents of violence, this thesis asserts that the 2011 Tunisian uprising successfully enacted nonviolent civil resistance, and the implementation of nonviolent political action has made the establishment of a genuine and lasting democracy a real possibility for the future. The UGTT were invaluable in the 2011 uprising as facilitators and collaborators with the Tunisian people, and currently function in a pivotal nonpartisan and objective intermediary political role. Though the outcome remains uncertain and the conclusion of the revolution in flux, the 2011 Tunisian uprising has set an example and a precedent for civil resistance to the rest of the world.

This final thesis deals with the theoretical prerequisites and preconditions of democracy and the possibilities of its permanent establishing in Egypt. The main goal of the thesis is to answer the research question, if Egypt is prepared for democracy. In this case study, the role and the specific status of the Egyptian army is examinand as well. The first part deals with the theory of favorable conditions for establishing and maintaining of democracy, published by Robert Dahl, and Lipset's theoretical approach to conditions leading to the stability of democratic regimes. The second theoretical part is dedicated to the relationship among the army and democracy and the civilian control over the military. In this part Samuel Huntington's and Nordlinger's theories are used as well as the Lawson, May and Selochan's alternative concept, which is contributed to developing countries. All the theories used in the thesis are applied on the specific political reality of Egypt. Also theories related with the issue of the military and its position within the Egyptian political system are applied in the empirical part.