The study of electoral defence and its stated advantages are an integral part of American political science. Post-war, much academic literature has emerged in an attempt to identify and explain rising re-election rates of congressional incumbents and the political consequences of such a phenomenon (Mayhew 1974; Fiorina 1977; Cain, Ferejohn & Fiorina 1987; Gelman & King 1990; King 1991). Conversely, the study of political incumbency in Britain can be attributed to a handful of scholars who tend to consider the repercussions at parliamentary level (Williams 1967, King 1981, Cain, Ferejohn and Fiorina 1984, Norton 1990 & 1994, Norris, Valance & Lovenduski 1992). Consequently, incumbency advantage at the local level remains a relatively under-researched topic in England, confined to the sub-chapters of Rallings & Thrasher (1997). The aim of this thesis is to research and present evidence in support of incumbency effects in English local elections and the extent to which they influence their outcome, in that, incumbent candidates fare better than less experienced candidates, to different degrees across the three major parties. It will do so using survey and electoral data collected by The Elections Centre at Plymouth University, drawing on established methods from the literature and demonstrating via a variety of data and methods, that incumbency advantage is indeed a real phenomenon effecting the outcomes of local elections in England. The research provides substantial evidence for Sophomore Surge and Retirement Slump effects throughout the period examined (1974-2010). These methods of estimation feature alongside a number of others, which are constructed to uncover the significance of defending, rather than challenging for a council seat. A number of influences on the advantage that defending councillors maintain are also presented, including district magnitude, ward size and rural/urban classification. Results reveal a modest advantage for Conservative and Labour incumbent candidates, whilst the effects are shown to be stronger for the Liberal Democrats, a finding that is in step with the existing literature on electoral trends and the local campaign strategy of the party (Dorling et al, 1998; McAllister et al, 2002; Russell & Fieldhouse, 2005; Cutts 2006).

The thesis "Political image of emerging politicians and media they use to build their image" examines the reationship of young aspiring politicians to the topic of political image. The main objective of this thesis is to examine the relationship of young aspiring politicians to political image and whether they are actively seeking to build their own political image. Young aspiring politicians are defined for purposes of this thesis as members of youth political organizations Young Social Democrats and Young Conservatives over 18 years old. The first part of this thesis summarizes theoretical findings on the issue of political image in terms of political marketing and political communication and defines political youth organizations and describes their function in relation to society and political parties. The second part of this thesis examines the relationship of young aspiring politicians to political image through qualitative research using semi-structured interviews as research tool.

Cette thèse aborde le sujet du conservatisme britannique, notamment le conservatisme de1979 jusqu’à 1990, la période qui correspond aux mandats de Margaret Thatcher. Ce travail vise à démontrer que la continuité a été l’aspect déterminant du parti conservateur depuis les XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Les valeurs premières du conservatisme ont continué à être appliquées avec l’avènement de Margaret Thatcher au pouvoir même si elle incarnait, pour beaucoup de gens, le changement. Ceci apparait dans les discours que Margaret Thatcher tenait quand elle était leader de l’opposition. Le changement était nécessaire selon elle car la société britannique était stagnante. En effet, Thatcher ne pouvait pas accepter ce qu’elle considérait comme étant une « société oisive ».Dès son jeune âge, elle avait appris que travailler dur était à la fois une responsabilité et un plaisir. Ce plaisir-là émane des principes d’indépendance et de persévérance auxquels elle a toujours cru très profondément. Dans ce sens, le changement signifie essentiellement la remise en question du consensus de l’après-guerre, conçu pour aider le pays et ses habitants à se reconstruire. Margaret Thatcher était déterminée à démanteler la social-démocratie keynésienne qui avait imprégné la politique britannique depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale à cause des circonstances changeantes. L’originalité de sa politique réside dans l’abandon du consensus de l’après-guerre largement basé sur l’état providence et l’intervention de l’état ainsi que l’encouragement des membres de la société à être autonomes et indépendants en plus d’une économie forte et capable de s’autoréguler sans avoir besoin d’intervention de la part du gouvernement. La liberté, l’individualisme et l’autonomie sont les conséquences ultimes de la dérégulation. Ces valeurs étaient les valeurs premières du conservatisme et leur application durant les années quatre-vingt n’étaient que retour au vieux parti conservateur. La continuité du parti conservateur, qui a été interrompue par le keynésianisme du parti travailliste, a été alors rétablie. Pour prouver de cette continuité, un nombre de documents d’archives ont été étudiés au Churchill Archives Centre à Cambridge; des archives telles que les procès-verbaux des réunions du parti conservateur et les discussions qui se sont déroulées entre conservateurs. Par ailleurs, savoir comment les conservateurs eux-mêmes définissent le conservatisme britannique élucide la nature du conservatisme. Pendant longtemps, le parti conservateur a été considéré comme étant le parti monolithique par excellence. Mais le retour en force d’autres partis, comme le parti travailliste après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, a poussé les conservateurs à réfléchir davantage, à innover, à créer des thinks tanks et à ne plus avoir peur d’exprimer leurs opinions diverses. Désormais, ils ne craignent plus le changement, partant du principe que « les choses doivent changer pour qu’elles restent identiques » (The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa). Une large partie de cette thèse porte sur la politique économique. La variable de la politique économique constitue peut-être le critère de réussite le plus visible notamment du fait qu’il est aisément quantifiable, et révèle que l’économie a toujours été une priorité chez les conservateurs. Selon Margaret Thatcher par exemple, le keynésianisme de l’après-guerre avait échoué et devait être abandonné. Pour Thatcher, le problème majeur à résoudre n’était pas le chômage mais l’inflation. La dichotomie entre continuité et changement sera analysée non seulement dans les discours publics de Margaret Thatcher mais aussi dans les discussions internes du parti conservateur. La pléthore de définitions et opinions pose également la question de l’héritage de la dame de fer, à travers son successeur John Major et des événements contemporains tels que le Brexit. / This thesis focuses on the dynamics of continuity and change within the Conservative Party from 1979 to 1990, the period of Margaret Thatcher’s premierships. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that continuity had been the defining feature of the Conservative Party since the 18th and 19th centuries. The implementation of the primary values of early Conservatism continued with the advent of M. Thatcher to power although she represented, for many people, the epitome of change. This was all the more obvious in Margaret Thatcher’s public speeches when she was Leader of the Opposition. Change was, to her, necessary since British society was stagnant. In fact, Mrs. Thatcher could not accept what she considered as an “idle society.” When she was very little, Mrs. Thatcher learned that working hard was not only a duty but also an enjoyment. These feelings emanated from the values that she dearly cherished such as independence and perseverance. In this sense, therefore, change only meant the questioning of the postwar consensus. The policies implemented during the consensus period aimed at helping Britain and her citizens reconstruct. Margaret Thatcher was determined to dismantle the Keynesian social democracy that had permeated British politics since World War Two because of changing circumstances. The novelty of her politics lay in getting rid of the postwar consensus, broadly based on the welfare state and government intervention and encouraging a society whose members should be self-reliant and independent in addition to a strong economy capable of self-regulating without the need for regulation from the government. Freedom, individualism and autonomy were the ultimate consequences of deregulation. These values were the original values of Conservatism and their implementation in the 1980s was nothing but a return to Old Tory Conservatism. The continuity of the Conservative Party, which was interrupted by the politics of Keynesianism of the Labour Party, had therefore been reestablished. In order to trace this continuity, a number of archival material have been studied in the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge; archival material such as the minutes of the Conservative Party or the discussions that took place among Conservatives. Besides, how members of the Conservative Party themselves define British Conservatism sheds light on the nature of Conservatism. The Conservative Party has been considered to be the monolithic party par excellence but as a result of the increasing influence of other parties, notably the Labour Party after World War Two, Conservatives became more aware of the need to think more, innovate, create thinks tanks and express their distinct opinions more widely. They were no longer afraid of change given that “Everything needs to change, so that everything can stay the same” (The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa). An important part of this thesis deals with the economy. The variable of economic policy is perhaps the most visible criterion of success namely because it is easily quantifiable. It also reveals that economy has always been a priority among Conservatives. For Margaret Thatcher for instance, the Keynesianism of the postwar era had failed and should be abandoned. According to Thatcher, inflation was the problem to solve, not unemployment. The dichotomy between continuity and change will be analyzed not only in the public speeches of Margaret Thatcher but also the internal discussions of Conservatives. This plethora of definitions and opinions also concerns the legacy of the Iron Lady mainly through her successor, John Major, in addition to contemporary events such as the Brexit.

La thèse retrace les nombreuses positions des responsables politiques français vis à vis de la notion de cohabitation au cours des années 1958-2017 et met en évidence leurs contradictions institutionnelles qui se révèlent en fonction de situations et de circonstances politiques données. Elle souligne ainsi les nombreuses divergences institutionnelles de la droite sur le sujet : le refus cohabitationniste du régime Gaullien et Pompidolien, le consentement Giscardien de 1978, la division au sein-même de la droite au cours des années Mitterrand entre 1981 et 1995, l'union dans la dénonciation au cours du premier mandat de Jacques Chirac entre 1995 et 2002 et enfin une succession de contradictions au cours des années 2002-2017. La thèse relève aussi certaines divergences institutionnelles du côté de la gauche socialiste : une volonté cohabitationniste au cours des années 1958-1981, une sérieuse réserve au cours des années 1981-1986 puis 1988-1993, une satisfaction cohabitationniste au cours des années 1997-2002 et également une succession de contradictions au cours des années 2002-2017. La thèse montre donc la manière dont les responsables politiques ont fait évoluer leurs doctrines institutionnelles en fonction de situations et de circonstances politiques données et cherche aussi à expliquer leurs nombreuses stratégies personnelles et leurs réflexions institutionnelles vis à vis de la cohabitation. / The thesis recalls the many positions of the French political officials with respect to the concept of cohabitation during years 1958-2017 and highlights their institutional contradictions which appear according to situations and political circumstances given. It thus emphasizes the many institutional divergences of the right-hand side on the subject : the cohabitationnist refusal of the Gaullist and Pompidolian regims, the Giscardian assent of 1978, the division within the right during Mitterrand years between 1981 and 1995, the union in the denunciation during the first mandate of Jacques Chirac between 1995 and 2002 and finally a succession of contradictions during years 2002-2017. The thesis also records certain institutional divergences on the side of the socialist left : a cohabitationnist will during years 1958-1981, a serious reserve during years 1981-1986 then 1988-1993, a cohabitationnist satisfaction during years 1997-2002 and also a succession of contradictions during years 2002-2017. The thesis shows so the way in which the political leaders have evolved their institutional doctrines according to situations and political circumstances given and also tries to explain their numerous personal strategies and their institutional reflections with respect to the cohabitation.

Cette thèse porte sur la résolution numérique du modèle multi-dimensionnel d'écoulement cisaillé en eau peu profonde. Dans le cas d'un mouvement unidimensionnel, ces équations coïncident avec les équations de la dynamique de gaz pour un choix particulier de l'équation d'état. Dans le cas multi-dimensionnel, le système est complètement différent du modèle de la dynamique de gaz. Il s'agit d'un système EDP hyperbolique 2D non-conservatif qui rappelle un modèle de turbulence barotrope. Le modèle comporte trois types d'ondes correspondant à la propagation des ondes de surface, des ondes de cisaillement et à celle de la discontinuité de contact. Nous présentons dans le cas 2D un schéma numérique basé sur une nouvelle approche de ``splitting" pour les systèmes d'équations non-conservatives. Chaque sous-système ne contient qu'une seule famille d'ondes: ondes de surface ou ondes de cisaillement, et discontinuité de contact. La précision d'une telle approche est testée sur des solutions exactes 2D décrivant l'écoulement lorsque la vitesse est linéaire par rapport aux variables spatiales, ainsi que sur des solutions décrivant des trains de rouleaux 1D. Finalement, nous modélisons un ressaut hydraulique circulaire formé dans un écoulement convergent radial d'eau. Les résultats numériques obtenus sont clairement similaires à ceux obtenus expérimentalement: oscillations du ressaut et son rotation avec formation du point singulier. L'ensemble des validations proposées dans ce manuscrit démontre les aptitudes du modèle et de la méthode numérique pour la résolution des problèmes complexes d'écoulements cisaillés en eau peu profonde multidimensionnels. / This thesis is devoted to the numerical modelling of multi-dimensional shear shallow water flows. In 1D case, the corresponding equations coincide with the equations describing non--isentropic gas flows with a special equation of state. However, in the multi-D case, the system differs significantly from the gas dynamics model. This is a 2D hyperbolic non-conservative system of equations which is reminiscent of a generic Reynolds averaged model of barotropic turbulent flows. The model has three families of characteristics corresponding to the propagation of surface waves, shear waves and average flow (contact characteristics). First, we show the ability of the one-dimensional conservative shear shallow water model to predict the formation of roll-waves from unstable initial data. The stability of roll waves is also studied.Second, we present in 2D case a new numerical scheme based on a splitting approach for non-conservative systems of equations. Each split subsystem contains only one family of waves (either surface or shear waves) and contact characteristics. The accuracy of such an approach is tested on exact 2D solutions describing the flow where the velocity is linear with respect to the space variables, and on the solutions describing 1D roll waves. Finally, we model a circular hydraulic jump formed in a convergent radial flow of water. Obtained numerical results are qualitatively similar to those observed experimentally: oscillation of the hydraulic jump and its rotation with formation of a singular point. These validations demonstrate the capability of the model and numerical method to solve challenging multi--dimensional problems of shear shallow water flows.

This work analyses development of economic and politic relationships of Great Britain with the European Communities (EC) and the European Union (EU) since the beginning of European integration till the contemporary debt crisis of the Eurozone. It deals with British European policies before and after Britain's accession to the EC and puts emphasis on British influence over negotiations about the main policies and institutional changes of the EC and EU, as well as on British internal views on European integration, first of all on often misunderstood British euroscepticism. From the analysis of historical and contemporary data author infers not only possible scenarios of the future relationship between the Great Britain and Europe, but also the influence of this member state on the development of the EU.

Questo lavoro analizza le relazioni tra Stati Uniti ed alleati europei dal 1989 ad oggi, con particolare approfondimento del periodo successivo all'undici settembre 2001. L'ipotesi di ricerca è basata sulla convinzione che gli attentati del 2001 abbiano avuto un impatto fondamentale sulla relazione euro-atlantica, accelerando tendenze centrifughe già presenti nel rapporto. La tesi è composta da un'analisi storica, da sette capitoli e dalle conclusioni. L'analisi storica esamina i cambiamenti strutturali nella relazione transatlantica dopo il 1989. I capitoli 1 e 2 presentano le correnti politiche determinanti nel formulare la politica estera americana dopo il 2001, con particolare riferimento al movimento neoconservatore. I capitoli 3 e 4 analizzano la definizione di impero moderno , la questione se gli Stati Uniti siano o meno un impero e la possibilità che l'Unione europea (UE) diventi una superpotenza. I capitoli 5, 6 e 7 approfondiscono tre nodi gordiani : il futuro della NATO; la Russia tra Stati Uniti e UE; e la relazione triangolare tra Stati Uniti, Cina e UE. Infine, le conclusioni riassumono le debolezze del rapporto tra Stati Uniti ed alleati europei, evidenziano come esse siano peggiorate dopo gli attentati del 2001 e presentano i pericoli in cui la relazione potrebbe incorrere in futuro. / This dissertation studies the relationship between the United States and its European allies from the end of the Cold War to the present, with a focus on the period following the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. The primary conclusion is that 9/11 accelerated divisive trends within transatlantic alliance. The dissertation has an historical introduction, seven chapters and the conclusions. The historical introduction analyzes the structural changes occurred within the transatlantic relationship after 1989. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the political movements and ideas that shaped American foreign policy after 9/11, with a focus on the neoconservative movement. Chapters 3 and 4 define the idea of modern empire ; its use in reference to the United States; and the idea that the European Union is becoming a superpower able to counterbalance the United States. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 focus on three looming challenges within the transatlantic relationship: the future of NATO; relations with Russia; and the rise of China. The conclusions summarize the weaknesses of the relationship between the United States and its European allies; highlight how they deteriorated after 9/11; and describe the dangers that lay ahead for the transatlantic alliance.