Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIA) are carried out in order to determine how a project or regulation affects the economy, society and environment. Traditionally, RIAs are carried out through cost benefit assessments and by monetizing different variables in order to assist policymakers with their decision. The main disadvantage of it, is that highly relevant social and environmental factors are difficult to quantify, thus providing weak or "incomplete" support to policy-makers in their final decision and enabling long-term consequences. An option to improving RIAs, is by taking into account such factors with the introduction of Sustainable Development (SD) concerns early in the decision making process. This is a trend that has been gaining more momentum and support, especially in OECD and EU members. The shift towards the inclusion of such concerns at a regulatory and legislative level nonetheless still presents itself to be a challenge and has wide room for improvements. On this research, four different countries and the European Union are analyzed and compared, presenting their current RIA practices and how much they take into account sustainability concerns with the intent on showing where can they be improved and better included.

This thesis seeks to answer the following question: How and to what extent does identity and Self-Other perception influence the foreign policy of the EU and Russia toward the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian State? The thesis scrutinises the assumption that identity and Self-perception as well as perception of ‘otherness’ play a vital role in defining foreign policy-making, with policy toward the Middle East being no exception. The investigation focuses on how the EU’s and Russia’s desire to reinforce their ‘global actorness’ on the international stage informs their involvement in the Middle East peace process. This assumption brings into the analysis the dynamic of constructivism in the shaping of foreign policy. Through a constructivist approach, the thesis attempts to explore how Self-Other perception informs foreign policy-making, specifically by the EU and Russia, in relation to Palestinian statehood. Thus the thesis problematises existing views about the role of established IR schools in understanding foreign policy-making (namely, in terms of peace-making). The study seeks to deepen our understanding of the role of identity and Self-Other perception in EU and Russian foreign policy-making by going beyond conventional understanding of foreign policy-making that are fixated on ‘power’, with special reference to the question of Palestinian statehood. In this vein, I advance the argument that, contrary to the old assumptions of schools such as realism and liberalism, there is a role played by identity and ideas that needs to be assessed in the context of EU and Russian peace-making in the Middle East. The thesis tests these assumptions using a qualitative methodology to investigate the making of foreign policy by the EU and Russia. Discourse analysis is the main method employed to interpret the role of identity and Self-Other perceptions. This is done through a study of discourse made up of official documents and statements as well as interviews with diplomats with current and past involvement in the formulation of EU and Russian foreign policy.

Today, different parts of a value chain operate in different places, different firms may hold ranges of brands with different national heritages, and leaders, shareholders and customers are widely spread across the world. Policy makers are facing new challenges as national borders define less and less of corporate thinking. In this paper, we argue that there is a need to find a new way of how to understand the relationship between business and nation-states. The theoretical framework was constructed by breaking down the concept of national identity of companies. We found four different aspects that we argue can connect business to nations, and in the empirical study, our ambition is to test this framework. By conducting the study using qualitative content analysis, we aim to answer the research question of if it possible to understand the national identity of companies through different aspects of business, and if so, how this is reflected in the national trade policies of four countries. Our results showed that by looking beyond the traditional view of national identity of companies, policy makers have three important factors to take into regards when considering their relations to business; location, culture and contribution.

<b>Background</b>: Evidence-based policy making (EBPM) has become an article of faith. While critiques have begun to emerge, they are predominately based on theory or opinion. This thesis uses the 2008 case study of tobacco control policy making for Indigenous Australians to analyse empirically the concept of EBPM. <b>Research questions</b>: (1) How, if at all, did the Government use evidence in Indigenous tobacco control policy making? (2) What were the facilitators of and barriers to the use of evidence? (3) Does the case study augment or challenge the apparent inviolability of EBPM? <b>Methods</b>: Data were collected through: (1) a review of primary documents largely obtained under the Freedom of Information Act 1982; and (2) interviews with senior politicians, senior bureaucrats, government advisors, Indigenous health advocates and academics. <b>Results</b>: Historically, Indigenous smoking was not problematised because Indigenous people faced other urgent health/social problems and smoking was considered a coping mechanism. High prevalence data acquired salience in 2007/08 in the context of a campaign to reduce disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes. Ensuing policy proposals were based on recommendations from literature reviews, but evidence contained in those reviews was weak; notwithstanding this, the proposals were adopted. Historical experiences led policy makers to give special weight to proposals supported by Indigenous stakeholders. Moreover, the perceived urgency of the problem was cited to justify a trial-and-evaluate approach. <b>Conclusion</b>: While the policies were not based on quality evidence, their formulation/adoption was neither irrational nor reckless. Rather, the process was a justifiable response to a pressing problem affecting a population for which barriers existed to data collection, and historical experiences meant that evidence was not the only determinant of policy success. The thesis proposes a more nuanced appraoch to conceptualising EBPM wherein evidence is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for policy. The approach recognises that rigorous evidence is always desirable but that, where circumstances affect the ability of such research being conducted, consideration must be given to acting on the basis of other knowledge (e.g. expert opinion, small-scale studies). Such an approach is justifiable where: (1) inaction is likely to lead to new/continued harm; and (2) there is little/no prospect of the intervention causing additional harm. Under this approach, non-evidentiary considerations (e.g. community acceptability) must be taken into account.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of identifying and assessing degrees of influence of environmental conditions and actors which influenced the passage of House Bill 72 by the Texas legislature. The two methods used to collect this data were personal interviews of key actors in the legislative process and a questionnaire administered to all members of the 68th Texas legislature.

Le droit de la famille constitue un sujet très sensible dans les pays musulmans et donne lieu à une controverse récurrente, principalement structurée autour des pôles islamique et féministe. C’est le cas au Sénégal et au Maroc où l’option retenue par le législateur - qui vise à renforcer les droits des femmes dans le cadre d’un texte cherchant à concilier impératifs islamiques et injonction à la modernité - est loin de faire l’unanimité. En prenant les débats sur le droit de la famille comme point de départ, ce travail se propose - à partir d’une analyse croisant action publique et sociologie politique du droit - de voir comment l’Etat cherche à réguler l’intime pour s’affirmer comme entreprise totale de domination dans un contexte marqué par un fort pluralisme normatif. La comparaison par contrastes dramatiques permet de centrer l’analyse sur le différentiel de capacité et de légitimité des Etats marocain et sénégalais pour mieux saisir le processus différencié d’institutionnalisation de l’Etat au sud. Dans les deux cas, l’Etat cherche à tirer avantage de la controverse en jouant sur les différents systèmes normatifs et en impliquant l’ensemble des acteurs qui le reconnaissent comme arbitre légitime, ce qui lui permet de conserver le pouvoir déterminant de la mise en forme juridique. Afin de pallier les difficultés d’application du droit, l’Etat s’appuie également sur les acteurs non étatiques pour le diffuser, ce qui confirme le caractère co-produit de la politique du droit de la famille. Si le droit étatique ne constitue pas la norme unique mais une norme mobilisable parmi d’autres, il contribue néanmoins à l’orientation des schèmes de perception et d’action des individus et renforce ainsi la prétention de l’Etat à constituer l’autorité politique ultime. / In Muslim countries, Family Law is a highly sensitive matter, which generates recurrent controversy, mainly polarised around Islamic and feminist positions. This is, for instance, what can be observed in Senegal and Morocco. In both countries, the legislator tried to mediate this tension by strengthening Women’s Rights within a text that conciliates Islamic imperatives and injunction to modernity. But this solution is far from receiving unanimous support.Taking the Family Law debate as a starting point, this work combines public policy studies and political sociology of law to analyse how the State tries to regulate the intimate sphere in order to be viewed as the sole domination apparatus within a context of strong normative pluralism. The comparison between the Moroccan and the Senegalese States - a comparison based on ‘dramatic contrasts’- allows to focus the analysis on the differences between the Morocco and Senegalese states in terms of capacity and legitimacy, and thus helps us in better understanding the specificity of state-institutionalisation processes in developing countries.In both cases, the State tries to take advantage from the controversy. It plays on the different normative systems and involves all the actors who acknowledge it as the legitimate arbitrator in order to keep and consolidate its power of law framing. Furthermore, in order to overcome the difficulties linked to law enforcement, the State relies on non-state actors to apply the law. This evidences and confirms the fact that Family Law is the result of a process of co-production. Even if State jurisprudence does not constitute the only normative order, but one amongst others, it nevertheless importantly influences individual behaviour on both the cognitive and the experiential levels. It thus reinforces the State’s pretention to constitute the ultimate political authority.

Como o Supremo Tribunal Federal se insere na dinâmica da relação entre Poderes no presidencialismo de coalizão? O presente trabalho busca dar aporte teórico, metodológico e empírico para avançar no enfrentamento dessa questão. No plano teórico, utilizo pressupostos da literatura de judicial politics para mostrar que é justamente a independência judicial que favoreceria uma atuação com preferências por políticas por parte da Corte, e que essa atuação pode ser conceitualizada por conexões que chamamos relações de convergência entre Poderes. No plano metodológico, desenvolvo um arcabouço para analisar essas relações empiricamente, no qual as normas julgadas pelo STF em jurisdição constitucional abstrata por meio de ações diretas de inconstitucionalidade (ADIs) adquirem papel central. Tais normas representam políticas que, propostas e aprovadas pelo Executivo e Legislativo, são julgadas pelo STF, o conectando a esses atores políticos. No plano empírico, utilizo recorte preliminar de leis e atos normativos federais com julgamento majoritário de mérito durante governos de um mesmo partido para oferecer exemplo de como a abordagem desenvolvida pode ser utilizada para relacionar preferências de atores políticos e coalizões à atuação do STF. Dessa forma, busco avançar na compreensão do processo decisório no STF, bem como ajudar a preencher lacunas entre o estudo do Tribunal e dos demais Poderes no presidencialismo de coalizão brasileiro. / How do Courts operate among the Separation of Power dynamics of coalitional presidentialism? This work offers theoretical, methodological and empirical framework contributions to advance in tackling this question. Theoretically, I review assumptions of the judicial politics literature to show that it is precisely the presence of judicial independence that favors decision making that regards policy preferences on Courts, and that such decision making can be framed by what I call convergence relationships between Powers. Methodologically, I develop an analytical framework to examine those relationships operationalized in the empirical realm, in which legal provisions judged by Contitutional Courts in abstract constitutional jurisdiction acquire a central role. These provisions represent policies that, being proposed and approved by the Executive and the Legislative, have their constitutionality reviewed by the Courts, connecting them to these political actors. Empirically, I analyze provisions judged within decisions of the Brazilian Supreme Court Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) during same-party governments to show how our approach can be utilized to link preferences of political actors and coalitions to Court rulings. Also, being STF not only a Constitutional Court, but the last Court for appeal in Brazilian Judiciary, my design further bridges the gap between the study of how Powers can interact in coalitional presidentialisms and other political systems.

Many current debates in Ecology and Conservation Science center on how to navigate the interface between science, policy and practice with the aim of using science to support viable, effective solutions to environmental problems. This dissertation has the general aim of contributing to devise ways to navigate the science-practice interface by taking an interdisciplinary approach to identify (1) how the academic debate on this subject has been framed, and (2) how scientists and decision-makers have been thinking about the relationship between science and practice. In chapter 1, I present a literature review, based on 1563 sentences describing causes of the science-practice gap extracted from 122 articles published in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation journals. I use text analysis techniques to organize these causes into a process-based conceptual framework that describes three perspectives on the important processes, knowledges and actors in the science-practice interface. I then evaluate the predominance of these perspectives over time and across journals, and assess them in light of disciplines studying the role of science in decision-making, such as Political Science. The unchanged predominance over time of the perspective centered on a linear, unidirectional flow of scientific knowledge from science to practice suggests debates in Ecology and Conservation lag behind trends in other disciplines towards perspectives focusing on a bidirectional, integrative flow of knowledges between science and practice. In Ecology and Conservation, the integrative perspective seems primarily restricted to research traditions historically isolated from mainstream Conservation Biology, which in turn has been dominated by \"evidence-based conservation\" approaches. All identified perspectives represent superficial views of decision-making by not accounting for limits to human rationality, complexity of decision-making contexts, fuzzy science-practice boundaries, ambiguity brought about by science, and different types of knowledge use. Nonetheless, the integrative perspective emphasizing collaborative work between scientists and decision-makers may potentially allow for more democratic decision-making processes and explicit discussions of values. In chapter 2, I focus on scientists and decision-makers from Brazil, a tropical developing nation with a growing science and rich biodiversity, but currently facing several drawbacks in environmental policies. I used the three perspectives of the conceptual framework of chapter 1 to create a list of 48 statements describing how the science-practice interface should ideally be. Using Q-methodology from psychology, I asked 22 ecologists and environmental federal analysts to rank their agreement with these statements. Principal component analysis revealed three groups of participants with similar rankings of statements, thus holding shared ways of thinking about the science-practice interface. All ways of thinking assigned great importance to actors and knowledges from both science and practice, but differed on the roles assigned to science, scientists or decision-makers, indicating the need to openly debate expected roles for each actor in science-practice partnerships. Moreover, such partnerships seem to be hindered by a lack of organizational incentive rather than by cultural differences between scientists and decision-makers. In the final session of the dissertation, I integrate the conclusions from both chapters, highlighting the most important implications for a better understanding of the science-practice interface and for fostering productive science-practice linkages in Ecology and Conservation / A interface ciência-prática em Ecologia e Conservação: um esquema conceitual e modos de pensaDiversos debates atuais em Ecologia e Ciência da Conservação estão centrados em como navegar na interface entre ciência e prática com o objetivo de usar a ciência para apoiar soluções efetivas e viáveis para os problemas ambientais. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral contribuir com caminhos para navegar na interface ciência-prática ao identificar, através de uma abordagem interdisciplinar, (1) como o debate acadêmico sobre este assunto tem sido feito e (2) como a relação entre ciência e prática é percebida por cientistas e tomadores de decisão. No capítulo 1, apresento uma revisão da literatura, conduzida a partir de 1563 frases sobre as causas da lacuna ciência-prática extraídas de 122 artigos publicados em periódicos de Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade. Uso técnicas de análise de texto para organizar essas causas em um esquema conceitual que descreve três perspectivas sobre os processos, conhecimentos e atores importantes na interface ciência-prática. A seguir, averiguo a predominância dessas perspectivas ao longo do tempo e em diferentes periódicos, para depois avaliar as perspectivas à luz de disciplinas que estudam o papel da ciência na tomada de decisão, como a Ciência Política. A predominância ao longo do tempo da perspectiva centrada em um fluxo unidirecional de conhecimento da ciência para a prática sugere que o debate em Ecologia e Conservação não seguiu a tendência observada em outras disciplinas na direção de perspectivas enfatizando um fluxo bidirecional e integrativo de conhecimentos entre a ciência e a prática. Em Ecologia e Conservação, a perspectiva integrativa parece estar restrita a tradições de pesquisa historicamente isoladas da Biologia da Conservação, que, por sua vez, é dominada por abordagens de \"conservação baseada em evidência\". Todas as perspectivas constatadas representam visões superficiais da tomada de decisão ao desconsiderarem limites à racionalidade humana, a complexidade da tomada de decisão, fronteiras difusas entre ciência e prática, a ambiguidade trazida pela ciência e diferentes tipos de uso de conhecimento. Por outro lado, a perspectiva integrativa que enfatiza o trabalho colaborativo entre cientistas e tomadores de decisão permite potencialmente processos de tomada de decisão mais democráticos e discussões explícitas de valores. No capítulo 2, eu me volto para cientistas e tomadores de decisão do Brasil, um país tropical em desenvolvimento com uma ciência crescente e uma rica biodiversidade, mas cujas políticas ambientais vem sofrendo diversas ameaças. A partir das três perspectivas do esquema conceitual do capítulo 1, elaborei uma lista de 48 frases descrevendo como a interface entre ciência e prática deveria ser. Usando a metodologia Q advinda da Psicologia, pedi para 22 ecólogos e analistas ambientais do IBAMA ranquearem suas concordâncias com essas frases. Uma análise de componentes principais revelou três grupos de participantes com ranqueamentos similares, apresentando, portanto, modos de pensar compartilhados sobre a interface ciência-prática. Todas as formas de pensar conferiram grande importância para atores e conhecimentos da ciência e da prática, mas houve divergência nos papéis atribuídos à ciência, aos cientistas e aos tomadores de decisão, indicando a necessidade de debater abertamente os papéis que se espera que cada ator assuma nas parcerias entre ciência e prática. Além disso, a falta de estímulo organizacional parece ser um entrave maior para essas parcerias do que diferenças culturais entre cientistas e tomadores de decisão. Na última sessão da dissertação, eu integro as conclusões dos dois capítulos, ressaltando as implicações mais importantes para uma melhor compreensão da interface ciência-prática e para o fomento de parcerias produtivas entre ciência e prática em Ecologia e Conservaçãor compartilhados entre cientistas e tomadores de decisão

Objetivos. Reflexos das transformações sociais promovidas pela Sociedade do Conhecimento são percebidos no contexto da gestão em saúde no Brasil. Apresentam-se referencial teórico sobre essas mudanças, gestão do SUS, sistemas de informação em saúde, produção científica e uso da informação na gestão. Foi analisada a produção científica brasileira em saúde pública como fonte de apoio à tomada de decisão em saúde. Metodologia. Foram feitos estudo exploratório qualitativo e análise documental em três áreas: bases de dados bibliográficas disponíveis na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, agendas estaduais de saúde e sites das Secretarias Estaduais de Saúde. Resultados. Os principais resultados foram: as bases de dados LILACS e MEDLINE foram as fontes de apoio mais abrangentes para localizar produção brasileira publicada no país e no exterior, respectivamente; a produção científica brasileira destaca-se nessa área, correspondendo a 39 por cento dos registros da LILACS-SP; as principais instituições produtoras são universidades e organismos governamentais; a produção de saúde pública encontra-se distribuída em revistas de outras áreas da saúde; a internet, já utilizada pelo ministério e pelas secretarias de saúde, seria favorável para disseminação de conhecimento científico para a gestão em saúde. Conclusões e recomendações. A informação científica e técnica disponível poderia apoiar os processos de tomada de decisão, mas o caminho entre sua produção e uso não é linear e precisa ser estimulado. São apresentadas sugestões para promover integração e articulação entre pesquisa científica e decisão política. / Objectives. Social changes introduced by Knowledge Society are perceptible in the health management context in Brazil. Literature on these social changes, on National Health System - SUS legislation, on health information systems, on the health scientific production and on its use for decision making was reviewed. Brazilian public health scientific literature as support to health decision making was analyzed. Methods. Qualitative exploratory methods and document analysis were used to study bibliographic databases available at the Virtual Health Library, health agendas and sites of the State Secretaries of Health. Results. The main results were: LILACS and MEDLINE databases were the most comprehensive sources for searching Brazilian public health literature; 39 per cent of LILACS-SP records corresponds to Brazilian public health literature; universities and government institutions are the main producers of public health scientific literature; public health journal articles are published also in journals from other health fields; Internet, which is already being used by Ministry and State Secretaries of Health for communication, could be a favorable environment for dissemination of scientific information for health decision making. Conclusions and recommendations. Available health scientific and technical information could support health decision making processes but the channels between its production and use are not linear and need to be strengthened. Recommendations to improve relationship and interaction between health research and policy were presented.

Cette thèse examine les stratégies des think tanks (TTs) européens pour influencer les processus de formation des politiques publiques de l’Union européenne (UE). Cette étude comparative explore des TTs, basés à Bruxelles, qui fonctionnent au niveau supranational, ainsi que des TTs basés en France, en Slovénie et au Royaume-Uni. L’analyse des données empiriques est guidée par le cadre conceptuel combinant la théorie des champs de Bourdieu et ses développements récents avec le concept des frontières et l’approche des réseaux sociaux. Cette étude propose une nouvelle conceptualisation des TTs européens comme un champ transnational. En plus de la dimension horizontale de ce champ, qui se reflète dans sa position intermédiaire entre les champs adjacents, la thèse identifie les mécanismes de son institutionnalisation verticale au niveau européen. La thèse affirme que ces deux dimensions permettent aux membres de ce champ d’accumuler et d’utiliser stratégiquement des formes spécifiques de capital pour augmenter leur légitimité, crédibilité et visibilité sur la scène politique de Bruxelles et ainsi être en capacité d’influencer les institutions européennes. Cette recherche souligne l’importance particulière du capital symbolique et des réseaux qui établissent les frontières symboliques et sociales de ce champ et contribuent à la légitimité du système politique de l’UE lui-même. La topographie des positions des TTs selon le volume et la structure de leur capital dans leur propre champ permet de déterminer leur statut d’« insider » ou « outsider » dans le champ politique européen. Cette thèse apporte des réponses aux questionnements relatifs au « déficit démocratique » et à la légitimité de l’UE, en montrant l’accès privilégié de certains TTs aux institutions européennes, mais aussi l’insuffisance des mesures de transparence, qui règlent leurs relations. Elle contribue à la discussion sur la transformation de la production des connaissances sous l’influence des demandes politiques, économiques et médiatiques. / This thesis examines the strategies used by European think tanks (TTs) to influence the EU policy making process. It includes in its comparative analysis both Brussels-based TTs, which function at the supranational level, and TTs from France, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The analysis of empirical data is built upon a flexible conceptual framework combining Bourdieu’s field theory and its recent developments with the concept of boundaries and the social network approach. This study proposes a new way of conceptualising European TTs as a transnational field. While acknowledging a horizontal dimension of the TT field, reflected in its intermediary position between adjacent fields, the thesis identifies mechanisms which account for its vertical institutionalisation at the European level. The thesis argues that both these dimensions of the European TT field allow its members to accumulate and strategically use specific forms of capital in order to enhance their legitimacy, credibility and visibility in the Brussels policy making scene and to gain political influence on the EU institutions. This research emphasises the particular importance of symbolic and network capital which fix the symbolic and social boundaries of the European TT field, as well as contributing to the legitimacy of EU policy making itself. Mapping the structural topography of the positions of European TTs in their own field according to the volume and structure of their capital allows us to determine their “insider” or “outsider” status in the EU political field. This thesis joins current debates concerning the challenges of the EU’s “democratic deficit” and legitimacy, by showing the more privileged access of “insider” think tanks to the EU institutions, but also the insufficiency of transparency measures which regulate their relations. Finally, it furthers the wider discussion of transformation of knowledge production under the influence of political, economic and media demands.