En mai 2001, un mouvement social transnational connecte des acteurs indigènes du sud mexicain et d'Amérique centrale qui s'opposent à une politique publique de développement le Plan Puebla Panama (PPP). L'étude de la promotion et de la contestataion du PPP au Mexique et au Nicaragua vise à interroger le concept de transnationalisation appliqué à l'action publique comme à la protestation collective. La thèse montre que les acteurs indigènes mis sur le devant de la scène par les acteurs contestataires, puis par les acteurs publics en réponse aux mobilisations, ne sont pas les acteurs centraux de la transnationalisation. La sociogenèse de la contestation au PPP permet de saisir les configurations localisées où d'anciennes allégeances continuent de primer sur l'allongement des réseaux à l'international. Ce sont des enjeux agraires, des liens notabilaires et religieux, ou encore le legs zapatiste, qui forgent la matrice du mouvement. Le Chiapas constitue à ce titre un condensé d'une topographie rurale et indigène des luttes dont les connexions à l'international ne sont finalement que secondaires pour une majorité d'acteurs. De même, la transnationalisation de la politique publique ne dépend pas simplement du poids des institutions financières internationales fortement impliquées dans le développement régional mais surtout de reconfigurations élitaires mexicaines qui s'assurent domination sur leurs partenaires centraméricains et maintien de leurs positions politiques, au lendemain de l'alternance de 2000. Ces configurations réticulaires différenciées entre promoteurs et opposants aux politiques de développement n'opèrent pas de connexions explicites. / In May 2001, a transnational social movement connects indigenous actors from southern Mexico and Central America in conflict against a development public policy, the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP). The study of both promotion and contestation to the PPP in Mexico and Nicaragua aims to examine the concept of transnational applied to public policy as to collective protest. The thesis shows that indigenous actors put on the front stage by contentious actors, and by public sector in response to the protests, are not the central actors of transnationalization. The sociogenesis of contention captures localized configurations where old loyalties continue to outweigh the international networks. Agrarian, religious issues, or the Zapatista legacy form the matrix that shape the movement. Chiapas thus constitutes a condensed topography of rural and indigenous struggles where international connections are secondary to a majority of actors. Similarly, the transnationalization of public policy is not simply due to the regional involvement of international financial institutions but also to Mexican elites reconfiguration that ensure their domination on Central American partners and their political positions after the 2000 election's. These reticular and differentiated configurations between promotors and opponents of the development public policy do not operate explicit connections, but they share a set of discursive signifiers that, despite the differentiation of meanings, gradually builds a common reference space: Mesoamerica.

Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Jan 5, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Ce travail porte sur les six premiers récits de Gioconda Belli, romancière, poète et ex-révolutionnaire nicaraguayenne. Il interroge trois motifs récurrents dans son œuvre – la Révolte, la Révolution et l’Utopie –, et cherche à en expliquer la présence obsessionnelle. En tant qu’intermédiaires entre les sphères individuelle et collective, ces objets d’étude nécessitent un éclairage à la fois psychanalytique et sociologique ; ces deux disciplines sont donc les outils privilégiés dans l’analyse, de même que la psychologie sociale, qui s’intéresse précisément aux processus psychiques régissant les interactions interpersonnelles. L’hypothèse de départ est que l’engagement dérive de la situation identitaire instable des personnages au début du récit, et que le choix entre Révolte, Révolution et Utopie dépend des conditions identitaires dans lesquelles ils se trouvent. Pour vérifier ce postulat, notre étude s’attache à dessiner les contours de la carence affective de chaque protagoniste, et analyse les processus identitaires susceptibles d’influencer la décision de s’engager, ainsi que les mécanismes psychiques que cette décision déclenche. Le fait que la quête d’identité ne soit pas assouvie par l’engagement mène alors à s’interroger sur la fonction idéologique de la Révolte, de la Révolution et de l’Utopie dans ces romans. Il s’agit donc aussi de déterminer le rôle de ces trois objets dans les récits, par l’étude de leur dimension temporelle, qui remplit une fonction à la fois diégétique et idéologique, ainsi que par l’analyse du dispositif argumentatif qui leur est associé, et qui révèle, de la part de l’auteur, une instrumentalisation de la littérature à des fins politiques. / This work deals with the first six novels of the novelist, poet and ex-revolutionary from Nicaragua, Gioconda Belli. It explores three recurrent themes – Revolt, Revolution and Utopia – and endeavours to explain the reason for their obsessional presence. As intermediaries between the individual and the collective, these concepts require both a psychoanalytical and sociological perspective. These two academic disciplines thus constitute the main tools of the research, as well as social psychology, which deals indeed with the psychological processes at play in interpersonal relations. The underlying assumption is that commitment stems from the characters’ unstable identity at the beginning of each novel, and that the choice between Revolt, Revolution and Utopia depends upon the circumstances of the creation of these identities. To put this assumption to the test, our study tries to locate the marks of emotional deprivation in each protagonist, and analyses the identity processes which are likely to influence the determination to commit and the psychological mechanisms resulting from such decision. Yet, the quest for identity is not quenched by commitment and this puts into question the ideological function of Revolt, Revolution and Utopia in these novels. Hence, this study equally tries to determine the role of these three objects in Belli’s work. It considers their temporal dimension, which has both a diegetic and an ideological function, and studies the argumentative devices attached to them, revealing thus the author’s political instrumentalisation of literature.

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Nicaragua hat eine der höchsten Teenager-Geburtenraten in Lateinamerika. Das Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die subtilen Konzepte, Wahrnehmungen, Überzeugungen und Einflussfaktoren zu verstehen, die zu unterschiedlichen Fertilitätsentscheidungen junger Frauen führen können. Die Ergebnisse basieren auf qualitativen Daten, die im städtischen Nicaragua erhoben wurden. Die Studie zeigt, dass zwei strukturelle Beschränkungen die Wahlmöglichkeiten von Frauen und ihre Fähigkeit beeinflussen, aktiv an der Definition ihrer Lebenswege teilzunehmen: Armut und traditionelle Geschlechternormen. In einer armen Umgebung aufzuwachsen, bedeutet nicht nur finanzielle Benachteiligung, sondern auch mangelnde Bildungsqualität, Mangel an effektivem und zeitnahem Zugang zu Gesundheitsdiensten, Gewalt in den Wohnvierteln, Mangel an Chancen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, Mangel an positiven Vorbildern. Darüber hinaus beeinflussen traditionelle Geschlechternormen das sexuelle Verhalten junger Frauen, ihre Interaktionen mit ihren Familien und Partnern und die Art und Weise, wie sie sich ihr Leben vorstellen. Diese Faktoren haben nicht nur Auswirkungen auf den Entscheidungsprozess, sondern auch auf die Konsequenzen dieser Entscheidungen für die jungen Frauen und ihre Kinder. / Nicaragua has one of the highest adolescent fertility rates in the region. The objective of this study is to understand the subtle concepts, perceptions, beliefs, and influencing factors that may lead to different fertility outcomes among young women. The results are based on qualitative data collected in urban Nicaragua. The study shows that two structural constraints affect women’s choices and their capacity to actively participate in defining their life paths: poverty and traditional gender norms. Growing up in a poor environment not only means monetary deprivation, but also exposure to a lack of quality education, a lack of effective and timely access to health services, violence in neighborhoods, an absence of opportunities in the labor market, and a lack of positive role models. In addition, traditional gender norms affect young women’s sexual behavior, their interactions with their families and partners, and the way they envision their lives. Those factors have implications not only for the process of decision-making, but also for the outcomes of those decisions for the young women and their children.

La controversia territorial y marítima entre Nicaragua y Colombia llevó a la Corte Internacional de Justicia a analizar diversos y complejos problemas jurídicos. El presente trabajo se centra sobre el trazo de la frontera marítima única que realiza la Corte en su fallo de 2012 y el procedimiento que sigue a tal fin; no obstante, analiza también la decisión del 2007 a la que llegó respecto a las excepciones preliminares a su competencia presentadas por Colombia. La Corte concluyó en 2007 que era competente para conocer el caso en virtud del Pacto de Bogotá de 1948, pero que la materia sobre la que se podía pronunciar se encontraba restringida por el Tratado Esguerra-Bárcenas, el cual, afirmó la Corte, era válido y se encontraba en vigor hasta el momento de presentarse la controversia jurídica entre los Estados parte del caso. En sus sentencias, la Corte recurre a las normas convencionales que obligan a ambas Partes; asimismo, hace uso de normas consuetudinarias del Derecho Internacional y su propia jurisprudencia para resolver finalmente la controversia. El presente trabajo cuestiona la elección de la etapa que realiza la Corte para analizar las implicancias del Tratado Esguerra-Bárcenas y concluye que dicho análisis pertenecía al fondo de la controversia. Asimismo, expone la incongruencia de utilizar distintas fuentes del Derecho Internacional para las partes en una misma controversia. Finalmente, critica la elección de la Corte sobre la metodología idónea para la delimitación que exigía el caso y expone cómo podría condicionar fallos futuros

El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar el proceso de identificación de normas consuetudinarias relacionadas con la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Derecho del Mar (CONVEMAR), seguido por la Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ) en su fallo del 2022, en el caso de Presuntas violaciones a derechos soberanos y espacios marítimos en el Mar Caribe entre Nicaragua y Colombia. Con esta finalidad, la autora hace una síntesis del caso y explica los principales argumentos que llevaron a la Corte a determinar la existencia de normas consuetudinarias referidas a la zona económica exclusiva, la zona contigua y las líneas de base rectas. Posteriormente, se presentan los antecedentes y la metodología propuesta por la Comisión de Derecho Internacional (CDI) en su proyecto de conclusiones sobre la identificación del Derecho internacional consuetudinario, para analizar a partir de éstas lo realizado por la CIJ. Como resultado de esta investigación, se observa que el proceso seguido por la Corte difiere de la metodología propuesta por la CDI, puesto que en la identificación de normas consuetudinarias la CIJ ha desarrollado suficientemente el elemento material, pero sólo ha hecho referencias tangenciales a actuaciones estatales que podrían indirectamente evidenciar la opinio iuris, sin hacer referencia expresa alguna a ella. / This paper focuses on the examination of the process of identification of customary international law in connection with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as followed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its 2022 decision, on Alleged violations of sovereign rights and maritime spaces in the Caribbean Sea between Nicaragua and Colombia. To this end, the author makes a synthesis of the case and explains the main arguments that lead the Court to determine the existence of customary international law related to an exclusive economic zone, a contiguous zone and straight baselines. Subsequently, the author presents the background and methodology proposed by the International Law Commission (ILC) in its Draft conclusions on identification of customary international law, using those to analyze ICJ’s decision. This research shows that the Court’s process differs from ILC’s methodology, since the ICJ develops the material element in depth, but only makes tangential references to State actions that could indirectly support opinio juris, without making mention of it. / Trabajo académico

Master of Landscape Architecture / Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / Play is essential to the development of children, as it serves as the main platform for a child to begin to explore his or her world and understand their physical and social environment. It is not a frivolous activity, but a method of learning. Despite this recognition, many playground designs are still steered, wrongly so, by unwarranted societal fears of safety. Such playgrounds lack developmental benefits due to their composition of isolated, prefab plastic components on an asphalt field. Despite recognition in the late twentieth century that “childhood itself is in danger of extinction”, many playground are still sterile in nature. The time is now for designers to look critically at playground design trends and intervene to improve the quality of the environments our children are exposed too. The positive development of the next generation, our children, depends on it. In the case of the community of La Chuscada in Chinandega, Nicaragua, economic status presents a major barrier to the creation of beneficial learning environments. This project addresses the hardships of implementing a developmentally beneficial playground, and through the collaboration with the Amigos for Christ philanthropic organization and interior architecture student Aaron Bisch, offers solutions to achieve this goal. Culture-specific influences of play are explored and survey data from the community of La Chuscada reveal strategies for the implementation of a nature playground design that offers developmental benefits for the children of the community.

The global energy trilemma has brought attention to the importance of energy access, in particular to the 1.3 billion people worldwide without access to electricity. Vital for addressing poverty, improving people s quality of lives and meeting the Millennium Development Goals, small scale solar energy technologies are espoused as a solution to household energy needs in off-grid areas of the developing world. This thesis contributes to this critical research area through an investigation of energy governance issues in Nicaragua; specifically it focuses on the practices and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies. The lived realities, voices and aspirations of energy users are largely absent in scholarly accounts of energy poverty, as such this thesis considers the implications of solar energy technologies from the perspective of those ultimately adopting, using, maintaining (and abandoning) them. Contributing to the burgeoning field of geographical and social science studies of energy, this thesis draws on ten months of field research in Nicaragua, which encompassed more than seventy qualitative interviews with stakeholders at multiple spatial scales. This included actors from international development agencies, national government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, civil society, as well as households participating in three solar energy programmes. This was complemented by a large household survey of participants from one solar energy programme. Incorporating perspectives from the micro, meso and macro scales, this study presents a highly nuanced picture of the Nicaraguan energy landscape. The study concludes that interaction between global energy paradigm shifts and the domestic political economic context produced an electricity sector that was until recently - characterised by low distributional equity, deep consumer mistrust and dominated by fossil fuel-based electricity generation. The recent prioritisation of energy as a key developmental concern is demonstrated not only in strong government intervention, but also through growing international interest in solving Nicaragua s energy problem . A raft of programmes to green the electricity generating matrix, strengthen distribution activities and expand electricity access have emerged. Despite these encouraging developments, this research concludes that issues related to transparency, vested interests and the politicisation of electricity access appear to remain unresolved. The study traces the development of the off-grid solar energy market segment, revealing a complex architecture of institutions and actors working to promote and deploy solar energy technologies at scale. While this market initially developed in response to gaps in remote electrification plans, the research finds that recent grid expansion activities mean that the longer-term scope for small scale solar energy technologies is limited. However, solar energy remains an important feature of energy development assistance in Nicaragua, with further evidence in this study highlighting the amenability of solar energy to multiple institutional objectives and mandates whether climate change-related or poverty focused. The thesis concludes that the positions and expectations of key solar actors are often misaligned with the needs, wants and aspirations of off-grid energy users. Engagement with the narratives of people living in remote, off-grid areas reveals that the implications of solar energy programmes are not guaranteed, static, or necessarily captured by all households or indeed, all members of households. Users perceive that small scale solar energy technologies provide important soft benefits including increased levels of comfort, security, wellbeing and connectivity. However, the benefits are only captured for as long as the technology continues to work whether in organisational, financial, technical or social terms. The research concludes that there are numerous challenges facing solar energy interventions in Nicaragua, with some barriers connected to the situation of the user household, for instance, their continued ability to absorb the financial commitments associated with technology use. Other challenges link to the broader political economic context, where the highly complex, fragmented and politicised nature of (solar) electricity access has the potential to undermine interventions. This thesis argues that it is vital to examine solar energy interventions as embedded within broader political economic frameworks, but also to account for the intricacies of inter and intra-household dynamics. The study contributes new insights and empirical findings to debates on global energy governance, energy poverty, and the practices, politics and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies in the Global South.

Access to proper sanitation is a necessary step towards sustainable development. Facilitating access to the tools to the most basic hygienic services generates a healthier living, a more sustainable environment, a means to generating economic activity, and strengthens human dignity and social development. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation, setting as a target the significant increase in the number of people with access to adequate sanitation and implementation of good hygiene practices. This project aims to help the people of Nicaragua meet that target. As of 2013, only 52% of Nicaragua’s population had access to improved sanitation facilities. This is still far below the average of its neighbor Latin American countries. Lack of proper sanitation has a tremendous direct and indirect impact on Nicaragua’s development in the areas of health, tourism, and water resources. As of 2013, the economic losses due to the lack of sanitation and hygiene amount to US$ 95 million and is expected to continue growing. This business plan will cover the design and implementation ECOSAN, a low cost, high quality compost toilet, which will be sold to low-income local entrepreneurs who will become franchise partners. The franchisees are responsible for managing the usage of the toilets in local poor communities. These entrepreneurs will receive training on how to convert the compost into organic fertilizer which could further be sold to local farms or be locally used.