Que cherchent à représenter et à percevoir les Romains, lorsqu’ils décrivent un parcours topographique ou géographique dans le cadre de l’art figuré ? Comment construisent-ils mentalement les déplacements géographiques réels ou imaginaires ? Comment se construit la carte mentale entre l’image et le récit ? La « mosaïque aux Îles » d’Haïdra est un parfait exemple qui nous permet de réfléchir sur ces questions. Elle a été découverte en 1995 sur le sol d’une pièce d’un grand édifice dans le quartier suburbain de la cité antique d’Ammaedara en Afrique proconsulaire. Attribuée à la fin du IIIe ou au début du IVe siècle, cette mosaïque offre la vue d’un espace insulaire avec une série de quinze îles et villes de la Méditerranée orientale et de la Sicile dont douze sont désignées par une légende en latin : Cnidos, Cnossos, Cypros, Cytherae, Egusa, Erycos, Idalium, Lemnos, Naxos, Paphos, Rhodos et Scyros. La représentation des îles et des villes ainsi que la manière de restituer leur succession ne correspondent pas à la réalité géographique, alors que ces zones ont été décrites par les auteurs anciens. Ce travail se propose d’étudier la structuration spatiale, la coordination et le montage des éléments réalistes et imaginaires des lieux dans l’art romain, à partir de cette mosaïque. Il s’agira d’analyser les différentes images qui rendent compte de la dualité à la frontière entre la notion de paysage figuré et celle de la cartographie ; il s’agira également de recueillir dans les sources écrites les descriptions spatiales de la géographie physique et littéraire évoquant un paysage culturel. / What do the Romans aim to represent and perceive when they describe a topographical or geographical trajectory within the framework of figurative art? How do they mentally build real or imagined geographical journeys? How is the mental path created from the image and the narrative? The "Mosaïque aux Îles" of Haidra is a perfect example that allows us to think about these issues. It was discovered in 1995 on the floor of a room in a large building in the suburban district of the ancient city of Ammaedara in Africa Proconsularis. Attributed to the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 4th century, this mosaic offers the view of an insular space with a series of fifteen islands and cities of the eastern Mediterranean and Sicily, twelve of which are designated by an inscription in Latin: Cnidos, Cnossos, Cypros, Cytherae, Egusa, Erycos, Idalium, Lemnos, Naxos, Paphos, Rhodos, and Scyros. Therepresentation of islands and cities as well as the manner of reconstructing their succession do not correspond to the geographical reality, although ancient authors have described these areas. This work aims to study the spatial structuring, the coordination, and the assembly of the realistic and imaginary elements of places in Roman art, on the basis of this mosaic. The different images that represent the duality at the boundary between the notion of landscape painting and that of cartography have been analysed. Also, the spatial descriptions of the physical and literary geography evoking a cultural landscape have been collected in the written sources.

This thesis uses cross-country panel regressions to identify the effects of fossil-fuel subsidies for both oil importers and oil exporters on GDP growth, industry growth, crowding out of government expenditures in education, health, and infrastructure, government debt, carbon dioxide emissions, inequality and poverty. Fossil-fuel subsidies are found to be associated with lower levels of growth and industry growth, less government expenditure on health and education, poorer infrastructure quality, more government debt, and higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions. No relationship is found between fossil fuel subsidies and poverty and inequality. These results confirm the arguments of those that argue that fossil-fuel subsidies should be rationalized. However, removing subsidies is politically challenging. In order to identify strategies for fossil fuel reform, the successful reform efforts of Indonesia and Turkey are examined. These cases are then used to draw lessons for governments undertaking subsidy reform. The key strategies used were to exempt some regions, groups, or fuels from reform, use funds from subsidy removal for social safety nets and other poverty alleviation programs, time the reforms strategically, and communicate clearly to the public the reason for reform and how the funds will be used. These lessons are applied to countries in the developing Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

S'ha estudiat la variabilitat genètica de les poblacions del nord d'Àfrica a partir de l'anàlisi de diverses regions genòmiques per tal d'entendre les poblacions analitzades d'una banda, i comprendre la dinàmica del genoma per l'altra. Els resultats obtinguts ens han permès verificar diferents hipòtesis sobre la història de les poblacions d'aquesta regió com són l'efecte paral·lel i independent de l'onada de difusió del neolític des de l'Orient Mitjà al llarg d'ambdues ribes de la Mediterrànea; i l'efecte de l'arabització. S'ha pogut estimar també la contribució genètica masculina nord africana a la península ibèrica i detectat certa contribució genètica del pobles sub-saharians a les poblacions nordafricanes. Per altra banda, el tipatge de marcadors genètics que evolucionen a velocitats diferents al cromosoma Y ha permès mostrar que el background genètic predomina sobre el background poblacional en l'estructura de la variació genètica dels microsatèl·lits en la regió no recombinant del cromosoma Y humà. / The genetic variability of the North African populations has been studied through the analysis of different genomic regions in order to understand both the analysed populations and the dynamics of the genome. The obtained results allow us to verify different hypotheses about the population history of this region including the parallel and independent effect of the Neolithic wave of advance from the Middle East and along both Mediterranean coasts; and the effect of Arabization phenomena. We also tried to estimate the North African male genetic contribution to the Iberian peninsula and detected Sub-Saharian genetic influences to the North African peoples. Moreover, the typing of genetic markers with different evolutionary rates on the Y chromosome allowed us to demonstrate that variation in microsatellites is deeply structured by genetic background on the non-recombining region of the human Y chromosome.

This thesis uses cross-country panel regressions to identify the effects of fossil-fuel subsidies for both oil importers and oil exporters on GDP growth, industry growth, crowding out of government expenditures in education, health, and infrastructure, government debt, carbon dioxide emissions, inequality and poverty. Fossil-fuel subsidies are found to be associated with lower levels of growth and industry growth, less government expenditure on health and education, poorer infrastructure quality, more government debt, and higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions. No relationship is found between fossil fuel subsidies and poverty and inequality. These results confirm the arguments of those that argue that fossil-fuel subsidies should be rationalized. However, removing subsidies is politically challenging. In order to identify strategies for fossil fuel reform, the successful reform efforts of Indonesia and Turkey are examined. These cases are then used to draw lessons for governments undertaking subsidy reform. The key strategies used were to exempt some regions, groups, or fuels from reform, use funds from subsidy removal for social safety nets and other poverty alleviation programs, time the reforms strategically, and communicate clearly to the public the reason for reform and how the funds will be used. These lessons are applied to countries in the developing Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.

The North African Barbary States are usually dismissed as an unimportant, though bothersome, pirate base of little consequence in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This thesis challenges that idea by providing qualitative and quantitative evidence of Barbary's role in trade and diplomacy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, especially as it affected Britain and how the British were able to carry out their military and political goals in the Mediterranean. The study is based on the correspondence between the British government and its military leaders in the region, the correspondence and reports generated by British consuls working in Barbary, import/export records, and a database tracking British shipping to and from North Africa during the conflict. To the British, Barbary was not an irritation but an asset. Britain was able to manage Barbary's trade and foreign policy over the course of the twenty-three-year conflict. This was accomplished in two key ways: as a source of supplies for British forces and through the diplomatic role provided by Britain's extensive consul network. Though the North African states were neutral for the majority of both wars, Britain worked strenuously to maintain and increase its trade and diplomacy with Barbary for the benefit of the British armed forces. British trade with Barbary, supported by the British-Barbary diplomatic relationship, directly contributed to British successes in the Mediterranean and Iberian Peninsula.

Extant research on terrorism has predominantly examined conditions associated with transnational terror. Considerably less is known about home-grown or domestic terrorism despite its accounting for much of the non-state violence seen in the international system. While some have examined the relationship between education and political violence, less has been done to investigate qualitatively the relationship between education and domestic terrorism, particularly under the condition of corruption. Comparing the cases of Morocco, Libya, Jordan and Egypt between 1970-2010, I find that increases in education bear little connection with levels of domestic terror. However, empirics suggest that increases in education may play a role in individual abilities to recognise and react against, sometimes violently, perceived state corruption. Findings suggest a need for further disaggregated data on the perpetrators of terrorist violence to better understand the complex relationship between education and domestic terror.

Cette thèse étudie une question historique classique, celle de la transition entre l'évergétisme et la charité chrétienne, à travers l'étude des dons à la collectivité en Afrique du Nord tardo-antique, de la fin du IIIe siècle au VIe siècle. La recherche s'appuie sur les sources épigraphiques et littéraires africaines tardo‑antiques, et prend en compte les acquis de l'anthropologie du don. Pendant l'Antiquité tardive, l'évergétisme, pratique caractéristique des cités antiques par laquelle des aristocrates faisaient des dons à leurs concitoyens se renouvelle et disparaît progressivement. Selon l'interprétation couramment admise, cette pratique aurait été supplantée par un nouveau mode de générosité influencé par le modèle de la charité chrétienne. Devenus chrétiens, les habitants des cités africaines auraient tourné le dos aux modes de générosité propres à la cité antique pour se montrer généreux vis-à-vis de la communauté chrétienne de leur choix. À travers l'étude des discours et des pratiques du don, ce travail remet en question le modèle de la transition en montrant notamment que les deux modes de don ont largement coexisté durant les débuts de l'Antiquité tardive. Cette étude affine la chronologie des dons à la collectivité et montre que le christianisme n'est pas à lui seul responsable de la fin de l'évergétisme. Le travail revient sur l'expression « évergétisme chrétien », parfois utilisée dans l'historiographie pour désigner la permanence d'une logique évergétique au sein même du don chrétien. Sont également étudiés les usages du don à la collectivité : le don est autant source de lien social entre les acteurs qu'il est vecteur de conflit. / This dissertation addresses the problem of the transition from euergetism to Christian charity. The approach focuses on gifts to communities in Late Antique North Africa from the third century to the sixth century. The study uses epigraphical and literary documents and includes anthropological perspectives on gift-giving. During Late Antiquity, euergetism (public benefaction) changes and disappears slowly. According to most current theories, euergetism would have been replaced by a new form of generosity, based on 'Christian charity'. Progressively converted to Christianity, the Romano‑Africans would have given up classical civic generosity, turning instead to the Christian communities. This dissertation studies the discourse and practice of gift-giving and challenges the idea of a transition from euergetism to charity, showing that both types of gifts coexisted in early Late Antiquity. This theory clarifies the chronology of Late Antique generosity and analyzes the expression 'Christian euergetism'. Finally, the study examines the uses of benefaction and shows that gift-giving strengthens social bonds while simultaneously generating tension.

Tous les peuples et toutes les cultures célèbrent leurs morts. Les rites funéraires président à la quête de sens face à la mort. Nous sommes intéressé par la question des rites funéraires dans les premiers siècles de l'Afrique du Nord chrétienne. D'où la formulation de notre sujet qui nous guidera tout au long de notre réflexion: "Les rites funéraires dans l'Afrique du Nord chrétienne du 3e siècle au 5e siècle. A la lumière des œuvres de Tertullien, Cyprien, Lactance et Augustin". Comment les chrétiens célébraient-ils leurs morts aux premiers siècles du Christianisme dans un environnement à dominante païenne ? Quel regard les premiers écrivains chrétiens de l’Église d'Afrique ont-ils eu sur les funérailles des païens, et quelle contribution ont-ils apportée face au culte rendu aux morts par les chrétiens ? Concernant l'Afrique du Nord au début de notre ère et pendant l'Empire romain, les célébrations funéraires étaient d'abord l'affaire des familles. Avec Augustin, nous assistons à une évolution du culte des morts que Tertullien, Cyprien et Lactance attestaient déjà. / All people and culture celebrate the death for peace of the dead persons and the living one. We are interested in the question of the funeral rites in the first centuries of christian Church of the North Africa. That is why we entitled our subject :" The funeral rites of Early Christian North Africa of the 3rd in the 5th century. In the light of Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactantius and Augustine's works". We try to understand the contents of the funeral rites which presided over the Christian celebrations in honor of the dead in the christian environment of the North Africa. How did the Christians celebrated the death in the first centuries? What are the points of view of the first christian writers in the Africa Church on the pagan funeral that the Christians went on celebrating, and what is their contribution about the cult of dead in the Christian area? About the North Africa at the beginning of our era and during Roman Empire, the funeral celebrations first concerned the families. Thanks to Augustine, at the end of the 4th century and at the beginning of the 5th one, we can notice an important evolution of celebrations in honor of the dead that Tertullian, Cyprian and Lactantius had already initiated.They also acquire at this moment an ecclesial dimension, especially with the cult of the martyrs and their relics. To throw light on the funeral subject in the north Africa, it is necessary to understand the history of the pagan cult of the 3rd to 5th century.

The thesis titled "Society and Church within the Territory of the Former Western Roman Empire in the 5th to 7th century AD" focuses on relations between the society and the church, specifically within territories which, at the given period, formed the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD) and its successor states (6th to 7th century AD). The given period was chosen as it marked a turning point in the relations between the state, or the society, and the church; the further development in Europe, not limited to religion, stems from this period. The 5th century represents a sort of a prologue to the dramatic and turbulent 6th century, while the 7th century is an afterpiece during which the details of the further direction and development of the Catholic Church were refined. The aim of my thesis was to confirm or disconfirm the hypotheses that Christianity (the church) did not accelerate the fall of the Western Roman Empire or that it did not significantly contribute to it, that it was not a bearer of progress as it did not improve the general conditions, and that the church had the character of any religion serving power and was not unique in any way at the time. Attention is paid initially to political and economic situation, which is followed by the study of the relationships between the church and the...

The transition of the North African electricity system towards renewable energy technologies is analyzed in this thesis. Large potentials of photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP) and onshore wind power provide the opportunity to achieve a long-term shift from conventional power sources to a highly interconnected and sustainable electricity system based on renewable energy sources (RES). A multi-dimensional analysis evaluates the economic and technical effects on the electricity market as well as the socio-economic impact on manufacturing and employment caused by the large deployment of renewable energy technologies. The integration of renewable energy (RE) into the electricity system is modeled in a linear optimization model RESlion which minimizes total system costs of the long-term expansion planning and the hourly generation dispatch problem. With this model, the long-term portfolio mix of technologies, their site selection, required transmission capacities and the hourly operation are analyzed. The focus is set on the integration of renewable energy in the electricity systems of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt with the option to export electricity to Southern European countries. The model results of RESlion show that a very equal portfolio mix consisting of PV, CSP and onshore wind power is optimal in long-term scenarios for the electricity system. Until the year 2050, renewable energy sources dominate with over 70% the electricity generation due to their cost competiveness to conventional power sources. In the case of flexible and dispatchable electricity exports to Europe, all three RE technologies are used by the model at a medium cost perspective. The socio-economic impact of the scenarios is evaluated by a decision model (RETMD) for local manufacturing and job creation in the renewable energy sector which is developed by incorporating findings from expert interviews in the RE industry sector. The electricity scenarios are assessed regarding their potential to create local economic impact and local jobs in manufacturing RE components and constructing RE power plants. With 40,000 to 100,000 new jobs in the RE sector of North African countries, scenarios with substantial RE deployment can provide enormous benefits to the labor market and lead to additional economic growth. The deployment of renewable energy sources in North Africa is consequently accelerated and facilitated by finding a trade-off between an optimal technology portfolio from an electricity system perspective and the opportunities through local manufacturing. By developing two model approaches for evaluating the effects of renewable energy technologies in the electricity system and in the industrial sector, this thesis contributes to the literature on energy economics and energy policy for the large-scale integration of renewable energy in North Africa.