[pt] A presente tese visa analisar como questões relacionadas ao meio ambiente - em especial, às mudanças climáticas - interagem com os entendimentos locais acerca da segurança, em comunidades que se mostram profundamente afetadas por esses problemas e que, ao mesmo tempo, encontram-se profundamente excluídas dos debates teóricos de segurança. Em meio aos Estudos de Segurança Internacional (ESI), a crise climática persiste em ser analisada a partir de uma dinâmica estadocêntrica, militarizada e de nós x outros. Quando não é esse o caso, os desafios ambientais são enquadrados a partir de uma lógica de segurança humana, animada por um entendimento moderno e liberal acerca do que a segurança deveria ser e, portanto, desconsiderando entendimentos e necessidades locais. (Shani, 2017). Ao focar em narrativas não-científicas sobre segurança, esta tese visa expor as contingências dos discursos hegemônicos verificados em meios aos ESI que, longe de se mostrarem racionais e fundamentados em uma descrição autêntica da realidade, contribuem para agravar os desafios enfrentados por alguns indivíduos, como os Marshalleses. Animados pelos discursos racionais promovidos por pensadores realistas e dos estudos estratégicos, durante a Guerra Fria, as Ilhas Marshall se tornaram palco de testes de 67 armas termonucleares. Tais armas – consideradas pelos teóricos e pelos policy-makers como fonte de poder e como meio legítimo de se obter segurança – vaporizaram ilhas, forçaram a evacuação permanente de comunidades, romperam com a organização social matriarcal e baseada na posse de terras característica das Ilhas Marshall e com os laços ancestrais entre indivíduos e seus atóis. Mais recentemente, o arquipélago e seus habitantes se mostram novamente em risco, dessa vez, não pelas práticas de segurança das superpotências, mas por uma ameaça não intencional e despersonalizada. As mudanças climáticas se caracterizam como a mais recente forma de intervenção, sendo precedidas por uma longa lista de práticas coloniais e violentas direcionadas ao arquipélago. Como uma nação constituída por atóis, é muito provável que, como resultado dos efeitos climáticos, as Ilhas Marshall se tornem inabitáveis ainda ao longo deste século. Para os Marshalleses, tal cenário significaria uma perda incomensurável em termos territoriais, espirituais e culturais. Ao analisar casos como o das Ilhas Marshall, a tese busca explorar quais novos significados e racionalidades de segurança podem emergir, ou se tornar mais proeminentes, face aos desafios trazidos pela mudança do clima. Desta forma, a teoria da segurança ontológica é apresentada como um marco teórico fértil para analisar casos em que o que parece em risco não é apenas a segurança física de estados nacionais, indivíduos e ecossistemas, mas também a preservação de espaços sociais e materiais e de um senso de continuidade biográfica. (Giddens, 1990) A partir deste movimento crítico, busca-se enfatizar outros modos de se refletir e de se vivenciar a (in)segurança, de modo a lançar luzes sobre como o significado deste conceito mostra-se indissociável dos contextos políticos, culturais e emocionais em meio aos quais os discursos de segurança emergem. / [en] This thesis seeks to analyze the ways through which issues related to the environment, especially climate change, interact with local conceptualizations of security in communities which are severely threatened by these problems and, at the same time, profoundly excluded from security studies debates. Within International Security Studies (ISS), the climate crisis persists in being analyzed through state-centered, militarized and us x others dynamics. When this is not the case, environmental challenges are placed within a human security logics, animated by a modern and liberal understanding of what is supposed to be secure and thus, disregarding the role of local understandings and needs. (Shani, 2017) By focusing on non-scientific security narratives, I expect to unveil the contingencies of the hegemonic discourses within ISS that, rather than being rational and based on an authentic description of reality, contribute to aggravating the security challenges faced by some individuals, such as the Marshallese. Animated by rational security discourses promoted by realist and strategist thinkers, during the Cold War, the Marshall Islands was turned into a testing ground for 67 thermonuclear weapons. The bombs - considered by security theorists and policy-makers both as a source of power and as a legitimate way to obtain security – vaporized islands, forced the permanent evacuation of entire communities, disrupted the Marshallese land-based matrilineal organization and their ancestral ties to their atolls. Nowadays, the Marshallese archipelago and its inhabitants are once again being challenged: not by the military security goals of superpowers, but by an unintended and depersonalized threat. Climate change is the latest form of intervention, being preceded by a long list of other colonial and violent practices. As a low-lying atoll nation, it is very likely that the Marshall Islands will become inhospitable until the middle of the century as a result of the deteriorating climate effects. For the islanders, it will represent an immeasurable loss of territorial, spiritual and cultural references. In relying on cases such as the Marshallese, I aim to explore what new meanings and rationalities of security can emerge, or become more prominent, in the face of the challenges brought on by climate change. With this aim, the ontological security theory is presented as an insightful framework for the analysis of these cases where, what seams at risk is not only a physical survival of states, individuals and ecosystems, but also the preservation of a stable social and material environment of action and a sense of biographical continuity. (Giddens, 1990) With this critical move, I seek to emphasize other ways of thinking and experiencing (in)security; thus, enlightening how the meaning of this concept is undissociated from the political, cultural and emotional contexts from which security discourses emerge.

This thesis conducts an analysis of the Intersessional Process (ISP) of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) between 2001 and 2006. Specifically, it aims to assess the extent to which the ISP has resulted in progress towards strengthening the BTWC. The fulfilment of the research aim is derived from three discrete approaches: firstly, an assessment of problems and weaknesses faced by the Convention; secondly, an assessment of common or converging understandings around measures to respond to such problems and weaknesses; and thirdly, an assessment of what effective action has been achieved between 2001 and 2006. To achieve this, this thesis uses a framework that structures the assessment around four dimensions of the BTWC and their evolution within a changing geostrategic and scientific context. The four dimensions identified are compliance, development, institutional and research. The conclusions drawn from this thesis suggest that although the compliance dimension has made some considerable progress in the area of national legislation and biosafety and biosecurity, it remains clear that other areas of the compliance dimension remain underdeveloped and deeply divisive. The development dimension has also made progress over the course of the ISP and, significantly, achieved much greater convergence in its focus around disease surveillance and detection. However, changing dynamics in security and science have negatively affected other areas of the development dimension. In terms of the institutional dimension, there has been a modest progress with regard to the BTWC¿s institutional and procedural evolution; however, legitimate concerns remain in relation to quantity and quality of membership of the BTWC relative to other agreements. Finally, there has been some motion towards the emergence of a more coherent dimension of research; although certain advances in science research remain neglected in the BTWC forum, and the issue of biodefence has been conspicuously absent from discussion during the ISP. Based on the analysis conducted, this thesis argues that the BTWC has made cautious progress over the course of the ISP, and there is evidence of a convergence in responses and effective action in some areas. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest there has been ¿major progress towards strengthening the Convention¿ and many issues require much greater attention.

[pt] Tendo como referencial teórico o instrumental do campo da resolução de conflitos, esta dissertação aborda as implicações da segurança nas operações de peacekeeping multidimensional. Através dos elementos verificadores da resolução do dilema de segurança interno, discute-se a importância da segurança para o sucesso do peacekeeping no pós-Guerra Fria e para a reconstrução das estruturas estatais. Para isso, foram estudadas as missões na Bósnia- Herzegovina e em Serra Leoa, ambas consideradas bem sucedidas pela ONU e cujos mandatos previam ações no campo de segurança e da reconstrução sócio-econômica do Estado. Ficou claro que o sucesso do peacekeeping multidimensional não reside apenas na garantia da segurança, vista como a ausência de ameaça militarizada: em função de sua própria natureza, essas operações dependem também da abordagem de questões não-materiais. Contudo, esses aspectos não são comumente estudados pelos teóricos do campo. Perceber a importância de suprimir a violência estrutural e preservar a diversidade cultural é essencial para o novo peacekeeping. Não fazê-lo é ignorar as causas que deram origem ao conflito e correr o risco de vê-lo acontecer novamente. Faz-se crucial, também, a vontade política da comunidade internacional de agir, sem a qual a cooperação entre as partes dificilmente acontecerá. Assim, percebe-se que o objetivo das operações de paz no pós-Guerra Fria não se limitaria a encerrar a violência direta, mas buscaria desenvolver cada missão dentro de suas particularidades, permitindo resolver os conflitos a partir de suas causas e impedindo que a guerra ocorra novamente. / [en] Using as reference the theoretical field of conflict resolution, this dissertation discusses the effects of security in wide peacekeeping operations. Based on an analysis of the elements of the internal security dilemma, this dissertation discusses the importance of consolidating the security in the post-Cold War peace operations held by the UN and the state-building process. The empirical studies reported in this work were both considered successful by the UN, having fulfilled their mandates with activities and programs developed in the security and socio-economic reconstruction arenas. The view expressed in this dissertation is that security, understood as the absence of militarized threats, is not enough to guarantee the completion of the mission: as wide peacekeeping deals with threats both in the military and the non-military arenas, it demands both material and non- material approaches, although the latter is not commonly studied by conflict-resolution researchers. Tackling structural violence and preserving cultural diversity has become essential for the success of wide peacekeeping. Failing to do this is to ignore the causes of the conflict, at the risk of seeing violence return. It is also necessary to count with the support of the international community, which is essential to the cooperation between parties. The dissertation concludes that wide peacekeeping is not aimed only at the resolution of the conflict, but rather intends to deal with its causes, treating each mission as unique in its particularities and limitations and preventing the conflict return.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study concerned the piratical attacks occurring along the East and West coasts of Africa. Although maritime piracy along the coasts of Africa is not a new phenomenon, recent upsurges in piratical attacks have attracted a great deal of attention. Despite Nigeria being long considered as the hotspot for piratical activity in Africa, the greatest upsurge of piratical activity has been seen in the areas surrounding Somalia, including the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The primary objective of this study is to identify the main causes of maritime piracy in Somalia and Nigeria. Also the correlation between state capacity (failed or weak) and the motivations for piracy (greed or grievance) is investigated. The secondary objectives of this study are to investigate the direct manifestations of piracy, as well as the current counter piracy initiatives. This is done in order to evaluate the successes and failures of current counter-piracy approaches in order to create more viable and successful counter measures. It is found that historical factors, as well as political, economic, social and environmental factors contribute greatly to the rise of maritime piracy in both Somalia and Nigeria. Furthermore, it has been found that there are numerous direct causes of piracy in these two countries. These differences and similarities have been investigated using a comparative analysis framework. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het betrekking tot die seerowery wat langs die Oos-en Weskus van Afrika plaasvind. Alhoewel seerowery langs die kus van Afrika nie 'n nuwe verskynsel is nie, het die onlangse oplewing van seerower-aanvalle baie aandag geniet in verskeie oorde. Ten spyte daarvan dat Nigerië lank beskou was as die probleem-area vir seerower aktiwiteit in Afrika, word die grootste toename van seerowery in die gebiede rondom Somalië, insluitend die Golf van Aden en die Indiese Oseaan ervaar. Die primêre doel van hierdie studie is om die oorsake van seerowery in Somalië en Nigerië te identifiseer. Die verband tussen staat-kapasiteit (mislukte of swak) en die motiverings vir seerowery (gierigheid of griewe) word ondersoek. Die sekondêre doelwitte van hierdie studie is om die direkte manifestasies van seerowery te ondersoek, sowel as die huidige teen-seerower inisiatiewe. Dit word gedoen om die suksesse en mislukkings van die huidige teen-seerower benaderings te evalueer ten einde meer lewensvatbare en suksesvolle teenmaatreels te skep. Dit is gevind dat historiese faktore, sowel as die politieke-, ekonomiese-, sosiale- en omgewings- faktore baie bydra tot die ontstaan en opbloei van seerowery in Somalië en Nigerië. Dit is gevind dat daar talle direkte oorsake van seerowery in hierdie twee lande is. Hierdie verskille en ooreenkomste is ondersoek met behulp van vergelykende analises.

Cette thèse étudie la dynamique entre les États-Unis et ses alliés privilégiés lorsque la coopération militaire est en jeu. Nous y proposons que les attentes de l’allié principal déterminent le niveau de coopération des autres pays mais que deux variables intermédiaires - la cohésion du gouvernement et la capacité militaire de l’allié - en déterminent l’exécution. Cette analyse porte aussi sur les stratégies utilisées par les états secondaires pour accroître leur pouvoir dans cette relation asymétrique : initier des négociations bilatérales dans le but d’obtenir des concessions stratégiques, faire valoir leur point de vue par le biais d’organisations internationales ou, encore, évoquer des principes d’ordre éthique et moral. Même si les alliés secondaires peuvent rarement influencer l’allié dominant, ils ont néanmoins la capacité d’agir de façon autonome et de résister aux pressions du plus fort. L’argument de la thèse repose sur trois propositions : dans une alliance asymétrique, les pays ne partagent pas nécessairement la même perception des menaces au niveau international; en cas de désaccord, le résultat des négociations entre alliés ne favorise pas toujours le partenaire dominant ; au moment de la prise de décision en matière de politique étrangère, l’allié secondaire doit protéger sa réputation en tant qu’allié fiable face à l’allié dominant, mais il doit en peser l’impact politique au niveau national. L’analyse théorique de ces alliances asymétrique s’inspire du réalisme néoclassique ce qui nous permet de mieux comprendre la relation entre les variables systémiques et étatiques. L’apport de cette recherche se situe au niveau de l’étude théorique des alliances militaires et de la prise de décision en politique étrangère et de défense. La recherche porte sur le comportement des alliés secondaires qui doivent réagir aux décisions prises par les États-Unis en temps de menace, en étudiant l’interaction entre variables étatiques et contraintes systémiques. Afin de préciser le lien causal entre la perception des menaces, les attentes de l’alliance et les contraintes du pays secondaire nous avons appliqué une méthode comparative en étudiant trois cas : La Grande Bretagne, le Canada, et l’Australie, et la réponse de chacun à l’appel de participer à la guerre en Afghanistan et en Iraq de 2001 à 2003. L’étude cible la prise de décision devant le choix de participer ou de ne pas participer dans une mobilisation conjointe avec les États-Unis. Le processus décisionnel est observé du point de vue de l’allié secondaire et nous permet de mesurer les facteurs explicatifs qui ont motivé la décision en vue d’une coopération militaire. / This dissertation focuses on military cooperation between the United States and its special allies. It argues that alliance expectations determine the level of military cooperation, while two intervening variables - the level of government cohesion and military capabilities - determine its implementation. This study also shows how secondary states deploy strategies to overcome power asymmetries through bilateral concessions, international organizations and by appealing to principle. The focus of the research is on special allies, as they have the most to gain or lose by going along with American plans. My contention is that secondary allies can rarely influence the dominant ally decisively, but they can act autonomously and resist to pressures exerted by the stronger alliance partner. The argument builds on three central claims. First, power asymmetries between allies translate into different assessments of international threats. Second, when disagreements over threats arise, the outcome of intra-alliance bargaining is not necessarily dictated by the preferences of the stronger power. Third, secondary states, as opposed to the dominant partner, face unique constraints when facing major foreign policy decisions, i.e. they face a trade-off between establishing a credible reputation as an alliance partner in a politically feasible way while minimizing domestic audience costs. To examine the theoretical puzzle presented by asymmetric military cooperation, I introduce a causal explanation that builds on neoclassical realism, to zone in on the interaction between systemic and domestic variables. My research makes a contribution to alliance theory and foreign policy decision-making by studying how special allies respond to American decisions in times of threat and how systemic constraints are channeled through state-level variables. To investigate the causal link between threat perception, alliance expectations and domestic constraints, this study relies on the method of structured focused comparison with three detailed case studies. The focus is on the initial decision made by special allies regarding whether or not to participle in joint mobilization with the United States. The decision-making process is presented from the perspective of secondary allied states and measures the explanatory factors that motivated the decision on military cooperation. The case studies are the UK, Canada and Australia’s response to the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq during the period of 2001 to 2003.

Observa-se que, desde o início da utilização do instituto da prisão penal como ferramenta de controle dos transgressores de um determinado sistema legal, a problemática da presença dos inimputáveis por transtornos mentais sempre desestabilizou os interiores dos estabelecimentos de cumprimento da pena, tanto em sua acepção meramente punitiva quanto na faceta atual da tríade punição/retribuição/reeducação. Desde a abordagem mais brutal do doente até a aplicação das “modernas” medidas de segurança visualiza-se uma inadequação por parte do Estado ao custodiar o inimputável que, abandonado à própria sorte, é vítima de um sistema carcerário precário no qual sua dignidade já comprometida é destruída, seja pelos sujeitos ativos do sistema, funcionários que deveriam resguardar sua integridade física e mental, ou pelos demais custodiados que acabam sendo os executores das antigas práticas atrozes outrora exercidas nos extintos asilos; os famigerados manicômios judiciais. Nessa messe, analisamos a forma como se dá a execução das medidas de segurança na modalidade internativa no Tocantins, bem como a postura do administrador público para sua efetivação na rede prisional. A falta de estabelecimento próprio para o cumprimento das medidas de segurança levanta-se como omissão do Estado do Tocantins que, ao abandonar os doentes mentais que acabam por cometer crimes em razão de sua enfermidade, sentencia-lhes à sobrevida num limbo social no qual não são criminosos cumprindo pena, mas também não são cidadãos cujos direitos e garantias fundamentais lhes são assegurados, passando a viver trancafiados ilegalmente em presídios onde se tornam vítimas das mais diversas formas de torturas e sofrimentos impingidos pelas dezenas de condenados que ali vivem em uma sociedade paralela na qual os inimputáveis são, novamente, brutalizados. / It is observed that since the beginning of the use of the prison of penal prison as a tool of control of the transgressors of a certain legal system, a problematic always destabilized the interiors of the establishments of fulfillment of the sentence, in its punitive sense as well as in the modern facet Of the punishment / retribution / reeducation triad, which is the mental patient's treatment within prisons. From the primitive approach of animalization of the patient to the application of "modern" security measures, a clairvoyant disregard of the State is seen in the custody of the unworthy who, abandoned to his own fate, was a victim of the notorious judicial asylums and today is a victim of A broken prison system in which its already compromised dignity is destroyed, either by the active subjects of the system (officials who should safeguard their physical and mental integrity) or by the other custodians who end up being the executors of the old animal practices practiced in the extinct asylums. In this messe, we analyze the contemporary conditions of the unenforceable in the prison system of the State of Tocantins, from the beginning of the criminal prosecution, to procedural instruction, to the application of the security measure by judicial sentence, and finally, the methods adopted by the public administrator to carry out Of that in their prison network. The lack of proper establishment to comply with security measures arises as an omission by the State of Tocantins, which, in abandoning the mentally ill who end up committing crimes due to their illness, sentence them to survival in a social limbo in which they do not Are criminals serving sentences, but they are not citizens whose fundamental rights and guarantees are guaranteed to them, and they live illegally in prisons where the most diverse forms of torture and suffering are practiced by the dozens of convicts who live there in a parallel society in which The inimitable ones are again animalized.

A importância do petróleo tem sido revisada nos últimos anos, principalmente pelo reconhecimento de sua função estratégico-militar, tanto no século XX, onde o controle sobre este recurso permitiu a ascensão de grandes potências, como em alguns dos conflitos atuais. Estes passaram a incluir a África nas disputas globais por petróleo. O contexto mundial se torna complexo com o aprofundamento da crise petrolífera mundial, em meio a crise de acumulação de capitais e hegemonia, ambas iniciadas nos anos 1970. O aumento dos conflitos regionais e a intensa competição entre as grandes potências por recursos energéticos cada vez mais escassos, passam a ser variáveis essenciais para a análise dos problemas de Segurança Internacional. Neste contexto o continente africano, responsável por 12% da produção petrolífera mundial, ganha ainda maior relevância global por ter dobrado o volume de suas reservas, que na porção subsaariana aumentou quase três vezes desde os anos 1980. As disputas por petróleo se misturam em meio a conflitos históricos ampliando-os e gerando novos ciclos de violência. Nos maiores produtores subsaarianos como Angola, Nigéria e Sudão, ampliam e criam novas disputas entre governo e províncias produtoras. No nível global, corporações estadunidenses e chinesas passam a disputar diretamente o acesso ao petróleo africano, apoiados pelos respectivos governos que intensificam sua presença regional na forma de investimentos, acordos comerciais, diplomáticos e militares, de treinamento e defesa, transferência de armas e instalação de bases militares. Assim, o petróleo se torna central, tanto para entender a atual dinâmica destes conflitos subsaarianos, no nível regional, como nas disputas por influência no subcontinente envolvendo China e Estados Unidos. / The importance of oil has been revised in the latest years, mainly due to its strategic-military function, not only in the twentieth century, when control over this resource allowed the rise of great powers, but also in current conflicts. The latest included Africa in the global disputes over oil. Global context becomes complex as the world-wide oil crisis gets deeper, during the crisis of capital accumulation and hegemony, both having started in the 1970s. The intensification of regional conflicts and intense competition among great powers over increasingly scarce energetic resources are essential variables to the analysis of International Security problems. In this context, the African continent, responsible for 12% of world oil production, becomes globally more relevant for having doubled its reserves volume. In the subsaharan portion it has almost tripled since the 1980s. Disputes over oil make historical conflicts greater and create new cycles of violence. In the greatest sub-shaharan oil producers, such as Angola, Nigeria and Sudan these conflicts create new disputes between government and producing provinces. In a global level, North-American and Chinese corporations compete directly for access to African oil, supported by the respective governments that intensify their regional presence in the form of investments, commercial, diplomatic and military agreements, training and defense agreements, transference of weapons and installation of military bases. Thus, oil becomes central to understand the current dynamics of these sub-saharian conflicts in the regional level as well as the disputes for influence on the subcontinent involving China and United States of America.

No description available.

冷戰結束後的第一個十年，國際關係當中的最主要特徵就是族群衝突的出現，不過卻顯然缺乏適當的理論可以解釋此一現象，更遑論其解決。雖然族群衝突並非嶄新現象，但是其發生頻率在整個90年代當中卻是最高，也因此衝擊到整個國際安全議程的設定，國際安全機構甚至主動介入其中，為族群衝突的解決找到了可能的方案。傳統國際關係當中的主流理論並無法適當地解釋這一現象，其他研究者所嘗試建構的族群衝突理論也多半將重心集中在分析衝突的起源，對於族群衝突的解決同樣無法提供有力的解釋。 有關族群衝突的起因或過程，已經存在許多的解釋，但是對於族群衝突解決的研究卻缺乏系統性的研究。本文主張，國際安全機構乃是可以用來解決族群衝突的一項良好的制度性工具。原因一方面在於國際安全機構本身就是國際社會成員為追求共同利益、降低交易成本所建構出來的制度產物，在其中必然涵蓋了解決衝突的規範和程序，特別是當族群衝突的發生已經影響到國際社會的共同利益，國際安全機構勢將依據制度啟動衝突解決。另一方面，族群衝突過程當中的暴力程度和缺乏互信狀態，也使得衝突各造難以自行尋找出可行的解決方案。根據衝突解決研究途徑來看，由擁有強制力量的國際安全機構出面改變衝突的結構，將因此為族群衝突的解決創造機會。換言之，以制度主義理論為經，解釋國際安全機構的動機；以衝突解決架構為緯，分析國際安全機構在解決族群衝突過程中的角色和功能，將能夠充分解釋國際安全機構介入並干預族群衝突這一現象。本文也將以發生在非洲和東歐的幾次重大族群衝突案例來進一步驗證此一論點。 / The main feature of international relations in the first decade after the Cold War is the burgeoning of ethnic conflicts. IR theorists soon find themselves uncomfortable while trying to explain the phenomenon, not even close to the ‘resolution’. Ethnic conflicts are apparently not new to this globe, but they happened everywhere and thereby dominated international security agenda-setting, especially in the 1990s. In the meantime, international security institutions actively intervened in those conflicts and settled some of them. This could not be explained by the traditional IR theories either. Those ethnic conflict theories focus most of the origins, are also incapable of offering good analysis. There is still in lack of systematic research about the resolution of ethnic conflicts. The thesis claim international security institutions are well-designed and institutionalized to settle ethnic conflicts for two reasons. Firstly, international security institutions are the product of international cooperation for common good and transaction-cost cutting. Conflict regulating mechanisms are always embedded in these institutions. These mechanisms will be automatically activated while regional (or international) security is seriously endangered. Secondly, bloody violence and antagonism makes the conflicting parties hard to find feasible solutions to end these conflicts. According to the conflict resolution approach, the ethnic conflicts could be settled when international security institutions taking initiative to change the structure of conflict. By taking both institutionalism theory and conflict resolution approach as an analytical scheme, the thesis will not only explain the motives for international security institutions’ intervention, but also analyze the roles that international security institutions can play during the conflict process. Four case studies followed will be further explored to testify this hypothesis.

Cette thèse étudie la dynamique entre les États-Unis et ses alliés privilégiés lorsque la coopération militaire est en jeu. Nous y proposons que les attentes de l’allié principal déterminent le niveau de coopération des autres pays mais que deux variables intermédiaires - la cohésion du gouvernement et la capacité militaire de l’allié - en déterminent l’exécution. Cette analyse porte aussi sur les stratégies utilisées par les états secondaires pour accroître leur pouvoir dans cette relation asymétrique : initier des négociations bilatérales dans le but d’obtenir des concessions stratégiques, faire valoir leur point de vue par le biais d’organisations internationales ou, encore, évoquer des principes d’ordre éthique et moral. Même si les alliés secondaires peuvent rarement influencer l’allié dominant, ils ont néanmoins la capacité d’agir de façon autonome et de résister aux pressions du plus fort. L’argument de la thèse repose sur trois propositions : dans une alliance asymétrique, les pays ne partagent pas nécessairement la même perception des menaces au niveau international; en cas de désaccord, le résultat des négociations entre alliés ne favorise pas toujours le partenaire dominant ; au moment de la prise de décision en matière de politique étrangère, l’allié secondaire doit protéger sa réputation en tant qu’allié fiable face à l’allié dominant, mais il doit en peser l’impact politique au niveau national. L’analyse théorique de ces alliances asymétrique s’inspire du réalisme néoclassique ce qui nous permet de mieux comprendre la relation entre les variables systémiques et étatiques. L’apport de cette recherche se situe au niveau de l’étude théorique des alliances militaires et de la prise de décision en politique étrangère et de défense. La recherche porte sur le comportement des alliés secondaires qui doivent réagir aux décisions prises par les États-Unis en temps de menace, en étudiant l’interaction entre variables étatiques et contraintes systémiques. Afin de préciser le lien causal entre la perception des menaces, les attentes de l’alliance et les contraintes du pays secondaire nous avons appliqué une méthode comparative en étudiant trois cas : La Grande Bretagne, le Canada, et l’Australie, et la réponse de chacun à l’appel de participer à la guerre en Afghanistan et en Iraq de 2001 à 2003. L’étude cible la prise de décision devant le choix de participer ou de ne pas participer dans une mobilisation conjointe avec les États-Unis. Le processus décisionnel est observé du point de vue de l’allié secondaire et nous permet de mesurer les facteurs explicatifs qui ont motivé la décision en vue d’une coopération militaire. / This dissertation focuses on military cooperation between the United States and its special allies. It argues that alliance expectations determine the level of military cooperation, while two intervening variables - the level of government cohesion and military capabilities - determine its implementation. This study also shows how secondary states deploy strategies to overcome power asymmetries through bilateral concessions, international organizations and by appealing to principle. The focus of the research is on special allies, as they have the most to gain or lose by going along with American plans. My contention is that secondary allies can rarely influence the dominant ally decisively, but they can act autonomously and resist to pressures exerted by the stronger alliance partner. The argument builds on three central claims. First, power asymmetries between allies translate into different assessments of international threats. Second, when disagreements over threats arise, the outcome of intra-alliance bargaining is not necessarily dictated by the preferences of the stronger power. Third, secondary states, as opposed to the dominant partner, face unique constraints when facing major foreign policy decisions, i.e. they face a trade-off between establishing a credible reputation as an alliance partner in a politically feasible way while minimizing domestic audience costs. To examine the theoretical puzzle presented by asymmetric military cooperation, I introduce a causal explanation that builds on neoclassical realism, to zone in on the interaction between systemic and domestic variables. My research makes a contribution to alliance theory and foreign policy decision-making by studying how special allies respond to American decisions in times of threat and how systemic constraints are channeled through state-level variables. To investigate the causal link between threat perception, alliance expectations and domestic constraints, this study relies on the method of structured focused comparison with three detailed case studies. The focus is on the initial decision made by special allies regarding whether or not to participle in joint mobilization with the United States. The decision-making process is presented from the perspective of secondary allied states and measures the explanatory factors that motivated the decision on military cooperation. The case studies are the UK, Canada and Australia’s response to the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq during the period of 2001 to 2003.