Most models of property rights assume they are supplied by the state on demand from society. Property rights are strong when state institutions enforce the law. The strength of state institutions in the provinces determines how well property rights will be enforced on the ground. The penetration of state institutions from the capital city to the provinces is a part of long state building processes. These processes pit centralizing elites against local notables who want to protect their authority and privileges. In the West, state building processes took centuries; in post-colonial states like Algeria and Tunisia, these processes have occurred over the last fifty years, and have occurred unevenly This dissertation asks why property rights are relatively strong in Tunisia, and why they are so weak in Algeria. To answer this question, it focuses on the development of local political and state institutions in the years immediately following independence. At independence, rulers in both states used their anti-colonial nationalist parties to buttress the state-in-formation. Their ability to do so, however, was conditioned on the development of those parties during the colonial period, and affected their rural state building strategies. The choices they made in the first decades of independence defined the parameters of local-national relations and the degree to which they can implement property rights on the ground. Using the Neo-Destour Party, which had developed into a mass-mobilizing movement by independence, the Tunisian state was able to project authority into the periphery. In return for vertical mobility opportunities, party cadres enforced national legislation during the early state building period. Property rights are strong. In Algeria, authority collapsed when close to a million European settlers fled in 1962. The French excluded Muslims from the political and economic sphere fearing they would subvert the foundation of the colonial system: strong settler property rights. At independence, the new regime had few cadres to staff the new state institutions, and an amorphous nationalist movement. The regime chose a two-tiered state building strategy. From the top-down, it placed its few cadres for the central and provincial administration. Its bottom-up strategy was to form a new set of party-administrators that could act as proxy agents on the ground through the municipalities. The top-down, bottom-up powersharing agreement turned on its side, however, as local notables infiltrated the local party organizations and municipalities. The party-administrators entered alliances with notables, creating localized political arenas independent of Algiers. Subsequent efforts to run land and property reform through the municipalities were undermined by these alliances, and have been since. In Algeria, property rights are nationally legislated, but they are enforced according to local dictates. Property rights are weak. / text

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Mosaique et memoire studies paradigms that contribute to the construction of identity in the writings of thirteen Tunisian women novelists writing in French: Emna Bel Haj Yahia, Aicha Chaibi, Annie Fitoussi, Behija Gaaloul, Annie Goldmann, Souad Guellouz, Jelila Hafsia, Souad Hedri, Turkia Labidi Ben Yahia, Alia Mabrouk, Nine Moati, Katia Rubenstein, and Fawzia Zouari. Drawing upon post-colonial and feminist perspectives, this thesis analyzes texts through their poetics and in linguistic, cultural and literary contexts. Novels by women offer an inside view of women's evolution through a variety of characters representing three generations, just as they explore alternate ways of entering modernity based upon harmonizing traditional values (cultural roots, family, faith, community solidarity, a Mediterranean warmth of spirit, thinking "in Arabesques") with 'modern' values such as sexual equality and individual freedom. / Multiple women's voices protest patriarchal and colonial or racist discourse, but also reveal spaces of happiness in women's lives. Jewish voices at times reinforce views by Muslim authors but at others present opposing viewpoints, deconstructing concepts such as 'Arab identity' and questioning nationalist claims to Islamic tolerance and multiculturalism. / In these French-language novels, images and metaphors, as well as expressions in dialectical Arabic, recall the rich cultural heritage underlying national consciousness, the memory and the mosaic which form both individual and national identities. The juxtaposition of Arabic and French suggests both the cross-fertilization of cultures and the impossibility of naming the inexpressible, just as it contributes to deconstructing identity through the medium of the novel.

In this thesis, we approach the issue of democratic transition from the subjective perspective of the authoritarian leader. By identifying successful cases of democratic transition in the last two decades, we enter a detailed analysis on the authoritarian regimes' incentive towards stepping down from leadership and pushing for democratic reform domestically.

Research on Islamist movements in the Middle East and North Africa has tended to focus on leaders and ideologues to explain transformation over time. This thesis, however, is a political ethnography of the Tunisian al-Nahda movement that focuses on one city to present a fine-grained micro-study of the shifting trajectories of an Islamist organisation. The main original finding is that the relationship between politics and preaching in the practice of Islamism can be conflicting and irreconcilable, rather than cohesive and interdependent. By privileging the experiences of non-elite activists, this thesis also identifies informal networks, an individual reimagining of the Islamist project, and peripheral activism as explaining resilience under repression. It argues that al-Nahda has undergone strategic and intellectual adaptations, which have incurred costs, culminating in a decision in 2016 to separate the political party from social, religious, and cultural work. This thesis is based on fourteen months of fieldwork among current and former al-Nahda activists in the city of Sousse. It addresses the origins of the movement in Sousse to ask why the movement first emerged in the city and what mechanisms of mobilisation were deployed. It rethinks the politicisation of the movement in the 1980s to challenge previous assumptions that suggested the movement grew away from its preaching origins. The thesis addresses the effect of two decades of repression, excavating the prison experience and the period of social exclusion which followed and which disaggregated the movement into its constituent parts. It explains why the movement fragmented after 2011 even as activists rebuilt and redefined their project. In conclusion, the thesis accounts for the tension between politics and preaching within the movement, interrogates the party-movement separation of 2016, and asks what lessons similar Islamist experiences in the region might offer al-Nahda.

According to The Economist Democracy Index, Tunisia was at 2.79 during 2010 and by the end of 2011 they had climbed up to 5.53. Therefore Tunisia entered a new category, called hybrid regime. This was a step closer to a more democratic regime. Rustow Dankwart, Shain Yossi and Linz J. Juan would say that the interim government and the political actors within it had a significant impact on Tunisias increase in democracy index. Therefore the aim of this study took the shape of a theory consuming case study. The purpose of the study was to analyze the political actors and the interim government importance during the Tunisian democratic transition, with the delimitation to the year 2011. The results firstly showed us the categorization hardliners within the authoritarian coalition in combination with radicals in the oppositional coalition. During the second interim government the categorization changes from hardliners to softliners. During the third, we see a glint of moderates within the opposition. Secondly, the results showed us that there is evidence of an opposition-led, power-sharing and incumbent-led caretaker regime in Tunisia. The study discusses two conclusions about political actors during the transition. Firstly, the importance of radicals within the opposition and secondly the importance of the authoritarian coalition changing from hardliners to softliners, which allowed the country to transition. Within the categorization of the interim government we have come to the conclusion that the opposition-led government played a significant role in the Tunisian transition.

Dans cette thèse, nous nous interrogeons dans une première partie dans quelle mesure le milieu parvient à influencer la croissance des jeunes entreprises nouvellement créées, approchée par la croissance de l’emploi. Pour cela, nous proposons un modèle – en utilisant une base de données de 412 entreprises high tech et 993 entreprises low tech – qui explique la croissance des jeunes entreprises, en fonction de leurs propres caractéristiques, des caractéristiques spécifiques de l’industrie ainsi que de celles du milieu. Nous soulignons en particulier la capacité du milieu à leur offrir un environnement riche en connaissances. Il ressort des estimations que la croissance des entreprises low tech est largement influencée par leurs propres caractéristiques ainsi que les caractéristiques du milieu alors que la croissance des entreprises high tech n’est pas dépendante des caractéristiques du milieu . Ce résultat montre que le milieu est plutôt contraint et qu’il présente de sérieuses lacunes. Les nouvelles données de l’économie de la connaissance rendrait impossible le maintient d’un modèle économique insuffisamment concurrentiel. Les pouvoirs publics ont alors préconisé la création de pépinières d’entreprises afin de créer un milieu favorable à la croissance des entreprises innovantes. Nous proposons ainsi dans une deuxième partie une analyse du rôle des pépinières d’entreprises afin de comprendre si elles peuvent combler les insuffisances du marché. Les résultats montrent que les pépinières jouent un rôle important dans la croissance des entreprises bien qu’elles souffrent de certaines défaillances. / The first part of this thesis addresses the question to what extent the location of a firm can be regarded as having an influence on the growth of newly created firms as measured by employment growth. For this, we propose a model of firm growth –using a database of 412 high tech firms and 993 low-tech firms- that is specific to characteristics of the location as well as the firm and industry. We emphasize in particular the capacity of the location to offer them and environment rich in knowledge. Estimates indicate that the low-tech firms growth is largely influenced by locational characteristics as well as characteristics specific to the firm and industry while the growth of high tech firms is independent of the characteristics of the location. They are not sensitive to local and neighboring sources of knowledge. This result shows that the location is rather constrained and it has serious deficiencies regarding the supply of inputs that are necessary to the development of new technological firms. The new data of the economy of knowledge would make it impossible to maintain an economic model insufficiently competitive. The public powers then called for the creation of business incubators in order to create a conducive environment to the growth of innovative firms. Thus we propose in the second part, an analysis of the role of business incubators in order to understand whether they can fill in the gaps in the market. The results show that incubators play an important role in the firm growth, although they suffer from certain deficiencies.

Saudi Arabia has, in recent years, experienced a remarkable development in publishing, due to the expansion of education, the encouragement of writers and publications by the government, and the Islamic heritage. In this context, a National Bibliography is a vital ingredient in promoting publications and encouraging their wider use. The objective of this study is three-fold: to find a model for National Bibliography in the KSA; to consider this proposal in the context of Arab national bibliographies and in the light of broader international aspects. The method of study involved reading a wide range of works on the subject, including papers and conference documents as well as books. Interviews were conducted with individuals and organisations connected with the subject. Description and analysis of works in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Tunisia were made according to the following plan: publisher; need and aim; scope of coverage (period, subject, type and number); organisation; bibliographical description; and depository law. Most of the bibliographic works produced in the KSA have been for specific purposes, appearing at different periods and often overlapping. They cannot themselves be regarded as a retrospective national bibliography but could be useful in producing one. Egypt and Tunisia are chosen for study as both have experienced similar problems to the KSA and both have a tradition of regular national bibliography. In both countries, the National Library produces the National Bibliography. Their experiences are considered useful for positive adoption of successful features and avoidance of shortcardngs in setting up a Saudi National Bibliography. In addition, a wider examination of Arab Bibliography and international definitions and practices has been made. Deposition law, as a vital feature of successful bibliography production, has also been considered for the main countries studied and for others. The National Library of Saudi Arabia should be the body to publish the prospective National Bibliography, benefiting fron the examples given above. Recarmendations are made for the administration and working of the New Bibliography.

La traçabilité est considérée comme une réponse à l’état d’incertitude lié principalement aux crises alimentaires de la fin du XXème siècle. Avec la mise en application de la réglementation européenne n°178/2002 le 1er janvier 2005, tous les acteurs de la chaîne alimentaire doivent être mobilisés afin d’apporter le maximum de garantie et d’assurance aux consommateurs finaux, que cela soit en termes de qualité et en termes de sécurité. Pour le cas de la filière des dattes tunisienne, la traçabilité -en tant que démarche de management stratégique- apparaît comme une innovation managériale qui se situe toujours en phase d’adoption. Notre travail de recherche s’inscrit dans ce cadre. L’objectif est d’identifier les déterminants de l’adoption d’une démarche de traçabilité dans le cadre spécifique des entreprises de conditionnement de dattes en Tunisie. Nous présentons une modélisation en ce sens, en proposant d’associer la théorie des parties prenantes à celle de la diffusion et de l’adoption d’une innovation de Rogers (1962, 2003). Nous discutons les trois propositions génériques de recherche émises, en se fondant sur une analyse qualitative auprès des conditionneurs de dattes considérés comme « pionniers » en matière de traçabilité tunisienne.Les résultats de la recherche aboutissent à l’élaboration d’un ensemble de déterminants de l’adoption de la traçabilité dans le cadre du maillon conditionneurs de la filière des dattes en Tunisie. Il s’agit des caractéristiques de la traçabilité, des caractéristiques de l’organisation et, des caractéristiques de l’environnement tels que précisés dans notre modèle, auquel il convient d’ajouter un quatrième élément issus de l’analyse des entretiens et qui concerne les facteurs transversaux. / The traceability is considered as an answer to the state of uncertainty due mainly to the foodcrises of the end of the XXth century. With the application of the European regulationsn°178/2002 on January 1st, 2005, all the actors of the food chain must be mobilized to bring the maximum of guarantee and insurance to the final consumers, in terms of quality and safety. In the case of the Tunisian date sector, the traceability - as an approach of strategic management- appears like a managerial innovation which always comes within the phase of adoption.Our research comes within the scope of this framework. The aim of this research is to identify the determiners of the adoption of an approach of traceability with the example of the companies of date conditioning in Tunisia. So we present a modelling by suggesting associating the theory of the stakeholders to the theory of diffusion and adoption of the innovation.We discuss three generic propositions of research put forward by basing on a qualitative analysis with conditioning date companies considered as "pioneers" in tunisian traceability.The results of this research end up in the elaboration of a set of determiners of the adoption of the traceability with in the conditioning date companies’ link in Tunisia. It represents the characteristics of the traceability, the characteristics of the organization and, the characteristics of the environment such as specified in our model, to which it is advisable to add the fourth element stemming from the analysis of the interviews and which concerns the transversal factors.

It has been ten years since the 26-year-old fruit seller set himself on fire to protest corruption in Tunisia. The street vendor created a wave of protests in the Arab world, a campaign for civil resistance, better known as the "Arab Spring". The protests led to the removal of long-standing authoritarian regimes in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya. The civil resistance was a result of an economic crisis, high unemployment and corruption. The citizens of the arab world were demanding freedom of expression and greater civil rights. Tunisia became a successful example, where the country today is a complete democracy. In Egypt, the revolution also led to democratization, but for a short period of time. Egypt became more authoritarian after a coup led by the military. The other states failed and the consequences have been devastating with results of civil wars in Libya and Yemen. The main purpose of this essay was to sort out and understand why Tunisia succeeded to become a democracy after the arab spring 2010, while Egypt failed. A qualitative analysis with a comparative democratization study, composed of a most different system-design. The theoretical framework is based on Samuel Huntington (1991) “third wave democratization” and the author’s criteria on democracy, which includes regime legitimacy, economical modernization, and religious change.