This thesis deals with the European Free Trade Association and its gradual integration into the European Union. Both EFTA and the EU were founded in post-war Europe with the objective of economic prosperity through mutual cooperation of the Member States, this later resulted in mutual cooperation between the two units and the progressive incorporation of EFTA into the EU. The first chapter discusses the development context for EFTA and the EEA upto 2001. The second chapter analyzes the impact of the revision of the memorandum on the relationship between Switzerland and the other EFTA members, the level of cooperation achieved in the EEA, and Switzerland's current relationship with the EU. The third chapter outlines the possibilities of further development of EFTA and the EEA countries and summarizes the current attitudes of individual members of EFTA towards furtherdeepening of their mutual relations.

This study develops a model of collaboration choice among city governments. The theoretical model suggests that collaboration is a function of transaction costs that vary with different institutional arrangements utilized in cities, as well as the degree of competition between cities. This study argues that cities facing high transaction costs and high competition are less likely to participate in collaboration and to participate less deeply. Underlying these environmental factors are resource factors that create incentives for cities to collaborate for efficiency gains, which affect both the decision to collaboration and the depth of collaboration. Eleven hypotheses are presented to explain why cities choose to participate in collaboration in the first stage of the analysis and how deeply they collaborate in the second stage. Utilizing a Heckman model of this two-stage process, I find broad support for a number of variables that measure each of these theoretical constructs.

A Constituição Federal de 1988 instaurou um novo pacto federativo no Brasil, redefinindo competências e declarando também os municípios como membros efetivos da Federação. A Carta e normatizações posteriores redesenharam políticas públicas de forma que sua implementação passasse a ser realizada de modo descentralizado. Esta tese objetiva contribuir para o debate sobre a importância relativa de estados e municípios para a descentralização da política de trânsito, a partir da promulgação do Código de Trânsito Brasileiro, em 1997. Os resultados indicam que, dada a prevalência do que denominamos de paradigma fiscalizatório e na ausência de políticas federais de indução à descentralização, os municípios adotaram diferentes estratégias para responder à diretiva da integração municipal ao Sistema Nacional de Trânsito. O tamanho da frota veicular local e as políticas dos governos estaduais orientadas a estimular a municipalização são fatores decisivos no cálculo dos governos municipais para integrar-se ao Sistema Nacional de Trânsito. Dada a ausência do governo federal e o controle sobre recursos-chave para o exercício da fiscalização, cabe aos estados papel preponderante na implementação da municipalização da política de trânsito no Brasil. / The Federal Constitution of 1988 established a new confederated pact in Brazil, redefining public competences and declaring also municipalities as full members of the Federation. The Constitution and the later specific legislation redesigned public policies, which caused the implementation happened to be performed in a decentralized way.This thesis aims to contribute to the debate about the relative importance of states and municipalities in Brazil for thepolicy of traffic decentralization, from the promulgation of the Brazilian Traffic Code, in 1997. The results indicate that, given the prevalence of what we call surveillance paradigm and the absence of federal policies towards decentralization, municipalities have adopted different strategies to respond to the policy of local integrating to the National Traffic System. The size of their local vehicle fleet and the state public policies aimed at stimulating the decentralization at the municipality level are decisive factors in the calculation of local public administration efforts to integrate the National Traffic System. Given the absence of the federal government and control over key resources for the purposes of surveillance, it lasts to the state the leading role of implementing the municipalization of traffic policy in Brazil.

Regional integration is not a new phenomenon but has become an increasingly important topic of political research with the continued expansion of the European Union as well as an increased number of regional organizations around the globe. This paper will seek to use both Europe and East Asia as illustrations in order to better comprehend the driving forces behind integration as well as why some regions are further integrated than others. The purpose of this research is to achieve a better understanding of what causes regional integration in hopes of developing a more inclusive theory. More specifically, it aims to see how integrated the region of East Asia is, in particular when compared to Europe. Through comparing the two regions and analyzing factors in both Europe and East Asia as determined by current integration theory, this research aims to achieve a better understanding of the driving forces behind regional integration as an international phenomenon. My research is an attempt to tie together the multiple existing theories of regional integration with the goal of creating a more cohesive and measurable theory. With an increased understanding of regional integration, we will be better able to both explain and predict integration in both Europe and East Asia, as well as other, less integrated regions around the world.

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本文考察了中央地方財政自主性的變化，地方政府日益增長的對土地相關收入的依賴以及中國社會總體穩定程度，三者之間的因果關係。使用24個省、市、自治區，跨1998年至2006年的面板數據的回歸模型結果顯示地方政府從土地和房地產相關產業發展上獲得的收入顯著的惡化了以來信來訪數量衡量的社會穩定程度。而地方財政自主性的增強則可以抑制地方政府謀取壟斷地租所導致的信訪數量的增加。 / 本文認為，信訪量的持續攀升與拆遷征地糾紛不斷的直接肇因是1994年開始實行的一系列稅收改革所改變的中央地方政府之間的稅收分配以及稅收結構。地方政府近乎掠奪性的征地拆遷以囤積土地獲得壟斷性租金收入的做法都與該變化有關。但同時，上述現象也受到了以信訪為代表的黨政糾紛解決渠道與以訴訟為代表的司法糾紛解決途徑在威權政體等級制度中的局限性的影響。在等級制度中，中央和地方政府因自身利益不同而存在博弈關係，在各級政府之間還存在權力與相應社會責任分配上反向的 “差序格局“。層級越高的政府，掌握越多的政治權力以及相應的可供其用來“尋租“的政治與經濟資源，卻承擔越少的社會責任和風險。 / My dissertation investigates the causal mechanisms among three factors, the relative change of the central-local fiscal autonomy after 1994 fiscal reform, the increasing of local land derived-revenue in recent years, and the variations in the general level of social stability. Using a panel data set covering 24 provincial level administrative units in China during 1998-2006, the study suggests that the income local governments earned from land and real estate developments substantially and significantly threaten social stability. It also reveals that more fiscal autonomy of local governments does help restrain rising level of instablity caused by local governments' incentive to capture monopoly rent from land. / The findings are consistent with the argument that the fiscal rearrangement and restructuring provide incentives to local governments to practice fierce land requisition and house demolition in order to get monopoly rents through land hoarding. Yet the general level of social stability is also affected by the restrictions of disputes resolution channels lie within authoritarian hierarchical structure. The study highlights how two of the most important disputes resolution channels in China, i.e. petition and litigation, reflects the different incentive structure of central and local governments. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 韓佳. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-201) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Han Jia. / 目錄 --- p.12 / 致謝 --- p.8 / 圖表索引 --- p.16 / Chapter 第一章 序言 --- p.20 / Chapter 1.1 --- 問題緣起 --- p.20 / Chapter 1.2 --- 文獻回顧 --- p.30 / Chapter 1.3 --- 實證材料來源說明 --- p.33 / Chapter 1.4 --- 章節小節 --- p.36 / Chapter 第一部份 --- p.38 / Chapter 第二章 --- 中央地方財政關係影響下信訪數量變化 --- p.38 / Chapter 2.1. --- 计量模型及变量描述 --- p.38 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- 計量模型 --- p.38 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- 變量描述 --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2 --- 統計模型與實證結果 --- p.57 / Chapter 2.3 --- 章節小節 --- p.61 / Chapter 第三章 --- 土地財政及其對國家社會關係的影響 --- p.64 / Chapter 3.1 --- 中央地方相對財政自主性 --- p.70 / Chapter 3.2 --- 土地開發和房地產開發：地方政府的第二財政 --- p.79 / Chapter 3.3 --- 由土地開發引起的糾紛：以白虎頭村土地維權事件為例 --- p.94 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- 廣西北海市白虎頭村土地維權事件 --- p.95 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- 導致糾紛的原因 --- p.108 / Chapter 3.4 --- 章節小節 --- p.115 / Chapter 第二部份 --- p.116 / Chapter 第四章 --- 土地征用糾紛的解決途徑比較 --- p.116 / Chapter 4.1 --- 當土地征用糾紛遭遇司法途徑 --- p.117 / Chapter 4.2 --- 信訪途徑與法治途徑？一個實證分析 --- p.124 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- 弱化信訪途徑即等於強化法治途徑嗎？ --- p.124 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- 計量模型，變量描述和數據介紹 --- p.127 / Chapter 4.3 --- 實證結果和穩健性檢驗 --- p.132 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- 實證結果 --- p.132 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- 估計結果的穩健性檢驗 --- p.135 / Chapter 4.4 --- 章節小節 --- p.136 / Chapter 第五章 --- 權力互動：信訪制度的歷史分析 --- p.138 / Chapter 5.1 --- 信訪現狀：以土地信訪為例 --- p.138 / Chapter 5.2 --- 信訪制度演進的理論分析架構 --- p.145 / Chapter 5.3 --- 信訪制度的歷史演進 --- p.152 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- 毛澤東時期的信訪制度 (1950-1976年) --- p.154 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- 鄧小平時期的信訪制度 (1978-1993年) --- p.164 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- 江澤民時期的信訪制度 (1993-2003年) --- p.172 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- 胡锦涛時期的信訪制度 (2003年-至今) --- p.178 / Chapter 5.4 --- 章節小節 --- p.188 / Chapter 第六章 --- 結論 --- p.190 / 參考書目 --- p.196

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Tax competition between tax sovereignties is a fact. We focus here on the international tax competition. Taxation is one of the tools of governance that States use to direct their policies. Tax authorities try to diminish the burden of their taxpayers to improve the national economic and social welfare. To aim this objective, Governments intensify the competitiveness of the domestic trade and/or attract foreign investments. Because every States share the same goal, Governments compete with each other on the tax field. This tax competition is qualified as beneficial on the one hand, and one the other hand---ever more often---the adjective used to qualify this competition would be "harmful". At first, this thesis exposes the situation of tax competition, presenting the opposing views and the concurring ones. Then, we look at the position of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and the position of the European Union on this issue of tax competition. Historic summaries explain the point of view of these two organizations that are the leaders in the fight against the "harmful" tax competition. Finally, we give subjective ideas to re-think tax competition in a fair way.

On November 24, 1964, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth approved a contract that read, in part: "The City of Euless and the City of Fort Worth desire to cooperate in the stationing of personnel and fire fighting apparatus of the City of Fort Worth in facilities owned and operated by the City of Euless..." An examination of the establishment of this contract is the purpose of this thesis.

Across four self-contained essays, this dissertation seeks to identify which features make international organizations (IOs) effective peacemakers in modern civil wars. The first essay introduces an original dataset on the institutional design of 21 peace-brokering IOs between 1945 and 2010. The second essay contains a statistical study of 122 IO civil war mediation episodes, examining how variation in institutional design affects outcomes. The third essay presents an in-depth case study, comparing interventions by the Arab League and the United Nations in Syria in 2011 and 2012. The fourth essay is a statistical examination of how IO member state biases influence mediation effectiveness. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that the performance of peace-brokering IOs cannot be accurately evaluated without taking institutional variation into account. IOs display considerable heterogeneity in de­sign and capabili­ties and this variation has implications for the nature and effectiveness of IO interventions. Quantitative evidence reveals that IOs with strongly centralized instruments for supporting mediation and, in particular, peacekeeping operations are more likely to end civil wars. Qualitative evidence shows that IOs with such capabilities can engage in interventions of greater scope and credibility, enhancing their ability to shape the calculations of civil war disputants. Combined, the studies suggest that although institutional capabilities are necessary for sustained intervention effectiveness, they are conditioned on other organizational attributes. IOs with high preference homogeneity can signal intervention durability, giving them an edge over IOs with divided memberships. IOs that contain member states that have pro­vided direct support to civil war disputants outperform IOs that lack such member states. / <p>This dissertation consists of four self-contained essays dealing with different aspects of conflict management by international organizations.</p><p>Essay 4 previously appeared in 2014 as “Leanings and dealings: Exploring bias and trade leverage in civil war mediation by international organizations” (<em>International Negotiation, 19</em>(2), 315–342).</p>