Starting from the consideration that gated estates and complexes are increasingly becoming part of the urban, peri-urban and rural landscape of many societies undergoing transformation, the aim of this dissertation is to explore what difference it makes to live in an enclosed space in order to understand not only the choice of living in such environments, but also their spatial, social and political implications and manifestations. This work does so by adopting a relational perspective and by comparing two different neighbourhoods of Johannesburg, South Africa: a newly built gated golf estate (Eagle Canyon) and an old open suburb (Northcliff). In order to develop insights into the ways in which life in a gated community is related to the life outside, an ethnographic study of three years has been carried on in the gated golf estate and in the open suburb. This work argues that gated enclaves, internally organized and managed by specific institutions, not only provide the space in which the "good life" is lead, but most importantly set the standard and the terms of this good life and provide a system of justification for it. Putting in dialogue the two suburbs, this dissertation points out that gated estates provide the sace in which an escalation of belonging takes place. The novelty of the study lies in the discovery that the relationship between Northcliff and Eagle Canyon and then between Eagle Canyon and other gated estates is not simply of one between different urban phenomena but, in addition, is one of political scale. Northcliff is to the City what Eagle Canyon is to the nation. In other words, these respective communities instantiate, symbolically, different scales of political community.

La tesi riguarda le vicende del CLN bresciano dal 1945 al 1946 e la situazione politica e sociale di Brescia e della sua provincia, caratterizzata da gravi problemi e da una prassi democratica caratterizzata da contrasti. / The thesis is about the occurrences in the National liberation Committee of Brescia from 1945 to 1946 and the situation of Brescia and its province, that suffered, at the beginning of its democratic age, serious economic and social problems.

La criminalità organizzata ha aumentato la propria presenza nell’economia legale attraverso l’infiltrazione in aziende, generando così delle conseguenze negative per il sistema economico e alterando le relazioni tra attori economici. Molti paesi europei hanno adottato dei sistemi di recupero di capitali illeciti, ma l’Italia è la sola che prevede anche il recupero di aziende come misura di contrasto efficace. La politica di recupero dei capitali illeciti dovrebbe ridurre l’infiltrazione della criminalità organizzata nelle aziende, ma ad oggi è assente una valutazione la politica di recupero delle aziende infiltrate da gruppi criminali. Questa tesi intende valutare la politica di recupero delle aziende infiltrate dalla criminalità organizzata in Italia. L’analisi riguarda la valutazione dell’efficacia, efficienza e impatto di questa politica e, attraverso lo studio di nove casi, propone un nuovo quadro di analisi che combina diversi metodi (es. analisi degli indici di bilancio) e fonti (es. casi giudiziari e bilanci). Lo studio dei casi mostra che il recupero delle aziende è efficace se l’amministratore giudiziario ha esperienze manageriali; è efficiente se i procedimenti di recupero sono brevi e l’azienda viene destinata ad uso sociale; ed ha un impatto positivo se i media e le associazioni locali si interessano alle sorti dell’azienda. / By misusing legitimate businesses, organised crime is increasingly present in legal economies, generating serious consequences for legal systems and distorting relationships among legal actors. Several European countries have adopted asset-recovery regimes, but Italy is the only one that foresees the confiscation of companies as an effective countermeasure. Taking profits out of crime should curtail its infiltration into legitimate businesses, but there are no evaluations of the recovery of companies once infiltrated by organised crime. This study aims to evaluate the recovery of confiscated companies infiltrated by organised crime in Italy. It measures the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of this policy, and, analysing nine cases to assess the achievement of the policy objectives, proposes a new analytical framework that combines different methods (e.g. financial ratio analysis) and sources (e.g. judicial files and balance sheets) to evaluate asset-recovery policies. The results from case studies show that the recovery of companies is effective if the legal administrator has managerial skills; it is efficient if the proceedings are short and the company is disposed to social reuse; and it has a positive impact if media and local associations show an interest in the company.

Obiettivo di questo lavoro è definire il processo di interazione con la televisione digitale terrestre secondo una prospettiva psicosociale, che tenga conto delle e modalità di rappresentazione e fruizione della stessa da parte degli utenti e degli esperti del settore. Dal materiale prodotto (interviste agli utenti e analisi della Prima Conferenza Nazionale sulla DTT) emerge una diversità tra i due punti di vista: i telespettatori mostrano di essere ancora legati ad una fruizione tradizionale del medium televisivo, mentre gli esperti ritengono che il digitale sia un prodotto per la massa, in grado di rispondere al bisogno di ascolto e di partecipazione che gli spettatori manifestano. / Aim of this work is to define the process of interaction with the DTT according to a psychosocial perspective, taking into account its representation and fruition, from part of the users and the experts of the field. From the data collected (interviews to DTT users and analysis of the First National Conference on DTT) a difference rises between the comparison of the two points of view: the televiewers seem to be still bound to a traditional fruition of the medium; but regarding the experts' representations the digital is thought as a product for the mass that at the same time can answer to that need of participation the televiewers show.

La ricerca si pone l’obiettivo di analizzare i servizi consultoriali rivolti alle famiglie/donne migranti nell’ambito delle politiche sociali che rivolgono un’attenzione specifica ai soggetti e alle famiglie della migrazione, osservandoli dal punto di vista del modello relazionale di buone pratiche (Donati P., Prandini R., 2006; Rossi G., Boccacin L., 2007), nell’ambito del Comune di Milano. Sono stati selezionati cinque consultori familiari significativi per il tipo di lavoro realizzato le famiglie immigrate, all’interno dei quali sono stati realizzati gli studi di caso. Gli obiettivi della ricerca sono: • Tracciare un profilo del campione d’ utenza immigrata che accede ai consultori familiari studiati (attraverso la rilevazione quantitativa). • Analizzare le pratiche di lavoro con le donne/famiglie immigrate. In particolare, valutare quanto le pratiche realizzate rispondono ad un modello di progettazione e di attuazione di tipo relazionale, quale posto sia riservato alla famiglia, a quale modello di integrazione si ispira e quale effetto abbia in termini di capitale sociale prodotto (attraverso la rilevazione qualitativa). E’ stata formulata una ipotesi generale, che si declina in tre ipotesi specifiche. Il Consultorio Familiare si configura come un servizio alla persona: 1. quando raggiunge un obiettivo di integrazione delle differenze culturali rispondendo ai bisogni degli utenti immigrati attraverso servizi che riconoscono e promuovono le appartenenze etniche (ad es. i gruppi di accompagnamento alla nascita ai quali partecipano donne di diversa appartenenza etnico - culturale), 2. quando riconosce e si prende cura dei legami familiari dell’utente immigrato (ad esempio estendendo la consultazione a più membri della famiglia), 3. quando realizza un modello relazionale di buone pratiche in quanto genera capitale sociale attraverso l’intreccio di 4 componenti: Efficienza, Efficacia, Integrazione del servizio in una rete di attori, La qualità etica dei fini perseguiti: benessere, protagonismo, empowerment e integrazione della famiglia migrante. L’approccio è multimedodologico per la scelta di più campioni (26 operatori, 4 coordinatori, 120 utenti), per l’utilizzo congiunto di più strumenti, (questionario e intervista) e infine, per quanto concerne l’uso di più metodi di analisi dei dati (quantitativo e qualitativo). In base alla prima ipotesi, il consultorio è un servizio alla persona nella misura in cui è capace di rispondere, con modelli di lavoro differenti, alla specificità della domanda dell’utenza, pur all’interno di un orientamento verso l’assimilazione dell’utenza che spinge verso il livellamento non solo della risposta del servizio, ma anche della domanda dell’utente. In base alla seconda ipotesi, il consultorio famigliare si configura come un servizio, che pur dichiarando un approccio alla famiglia nella mission perseguita, rivolge il proprio intervento al singolo utente o al massimo a diadi familiari. In base alla terza ipotesi, è stato possibile confermare la presenza di singole pratiche di lavoro attivate dagli operatori che rispondono ad un modello relazionale di buone pratiche, in quanto supportando la nascita di nuovi legami sociali e il confronto culturale, generano capitale sociale e promuovono l’integrazione. Dalla ricerca è emerso un quadro composito del complesso rapporto tra servizio consultoriale e utenza immigrata, che necessita di ulteriori approfondimenti di ricerca. / Research object is inquiring consultorio familiare within the frame of social policy. Consultorio familiare will be analysed to the point of good/best practices relational model (Donati P., Prandini R., 2006; Rossi G. , Boccacin L.,2007), in Milan, a city that has high level of immigrants clients. The research intends to define more precisely what kind of ‘good practices’ are realized, especially with regards to the immigrant families. The research aims : • To describe sample of immigrant clients who access to Consultorio familiare through quantitative research method • to shed light on family services related to immigrant families clients, in order to discover how the good practices and the social capital generate, level of family approach, model of integration realized with immigrant families. The observation of family services that are offered in Consultorio familiare, and the analysis of the social capital generation process, has been carried out through the realisation of 5 case studies identified among some experiences qualified as ‘good practices’. Specific hypothesis: Consultorio familiare is “servizio alla persona”: • When it reaches a goal of integration of cultural differences in response to immigrant clients' needs through services that recognize and promote the ethnic membership (eg. Birth groups for women of different ethnic-cultural membership), • when it recognizes and takes care of the immigrant's family ties (eg by extending the consultation to more family members) • When it achieves a relational model of good practice and generates social capital through the intertwining of 4 components: Efficiency, Effectiveness, Integration of service into a network of actors, the ethical quality of the purposes: wellbeing, protagonists, empowerment and integration of the family migrant. For the choice of different samples (providers and clients), as well as for the use of different, (questionnaire and interview) tools, and different (quantitative and qualitative) methods of data analysis, this research is based on a multi-methodological approach. Under the first hypothesis, Consultorio familiare is “servizio alla persona” to the extent is able to respond with different patterns of work to the specific nature of the requests, but in a shift towards user assimilation that leads to the same level of the provider response and the clients demand. Under the second hypothesis, Consultorio familiare is configured as a service, while stating that a family approach is pursued in the mission, it realizes a practice at an individualist or dyadic level, with one client or a maximum of family dyads. With the third hypothesis, it was possible to confirm the presence of specific working practices enabled by the providers responding to a relational model of good practice, supporting the emergence of new social ties and cultural confrontation, generate social capital and promote social integration. The research has shown a mixed picture of the complex relationship between immigrant clients and consultorio familiare, who needs further research investigations.

Questa tesi presenta un’indagine sugli attivisti del Partito Democratico, condotta tra il 2009 e il 2010 nei circoli di quattro città italiane (Milano, Perugia, Roma e Napoli) attraverso etnografie e interviste biografiche. L’identità degli attivisti è studiata attraverso il metodo dello storytelling, ampiamente utilizzato negli studi dei fenomeni politici. Partendo dal presupposto teorico che ogni attivista possiede tante identità quanti sono i suoi flussi stabili di relazioni verso altri attori (individuali o collettivi), ne vengono individuati essenzialmente due: il primo verso l’interno dell’organizzazione e il secondo verso l’esterno. Nel primo caso, l’identità degli attivisti viene studiata attraverso le relazioni che essi intrattengono all’interno del partito (con leader, dirigenti e altri attivisti). Nel secondo caso, vengono analizzate le relazioni che gli attivisti intrattengono con elettori e realtà associative dei territori. Infine, si presenteranno gli aspetti dinamici delle identità degli attivisti, le scintille del mutamento che attraversano le loro storie. Il quadro generale che emerge dalla ricerca è un attivismo che viene definito, con una metafora informatica, “1.5”: un attivismo contemporaneo che sta esperendo un mutamento dalla militanza tradizionale dei partiti elettorali di massa, in una direzione che però è ancora per molti aspetti nebulosa. Un mutamento incompiuto: una rivoluzione “1.5”. / This work presents field research on the activists of the Italian Democratic Party, developed between 2009 and 2010 in four Italian cities (Milan, Perugia, Rome and Naples) through ethnographies and in-depth interviews. The identity of the activists is studied through the method of storytelling, widely used within the field of political studies. Starting from the theoretical assumption that social identities are stable steams of relations between actors, this work identifies two relevant steams for party activists: the first is toward the organization itself, and the second is toward the territory. In the first case, the identity of the activists is examined through the relationships with party leaders, managers and other activists. In the second case, it is analyzed the relation that activists maintain with the territory: voters, associations, and other political organizations. Finally, it is presented the dynamic aspect of the activists’ identities, the spark of change that run through their stories. The overall picture that emerges from the research is a “1.5 activism”: a contemporary form of activism that is experiencing a shift from traditional electoral mass parties, yet still remaining unfinished. A “1.5” revolution.

La thèse présentée s'inscrit dans le contexte de l'adhésion de la Roumanie à l'UE et plus largement fait le point sur la seconde décennie post-communiste (2000-2010) de l'évolution des structures agricoles de production roumaines. Dans ce contexte se pose la question des principaux facteurs d'évolution des structures et du rôle des politiques publiques d'accompagnement. Tout d'abord, le cadre théorique s'appuyant sur l'économie du développement et l'économie institutionnaliste historique est construit. Il permet d'analyser dans une première partie l'encastrement social du secteur agricole roumain, après avoir défini et caractérisé ce qui était appelé « structures agricoles de production ». Le rôle d'amortisseur social de l'activité agricole se poursuit ainsi sur la période étudiée, même si d'autres formes de régulation sont apparues (émigration nationale et internationale). On fait ensuite le constat des évolutions apparues en croisant différentes bases de données. On observe ainsi une diminution des plus petites unités au bénéfice d'exploitations moyennes. Les plus grandes entités ont elles aussi connu des diminutions de nombre et de taille, que l'on attribuera à la fin des privatisations et restitutions. La thèse tente d'identifier par la suite lesfacteurs de ces évolutions (survie et croissance) à l'aide d'un modèle économétrique en deux étapes.Enfin, une évaluation de politiques est menée sur une série de mesures identifiées pour avoir un objectif de restructuration. Il apparaît de manière globale que l' objectif intermédiaire d'absorption des fonds est privilégié à un objectif final de la politique qui est la pénétration en milieu rural de ces leviers d'action. Ainsi, si le soutien aux exploitations moyennes paraît pertinent, des limitations apparaissent dans la mise en oeuvre. Enfin la réorientation de la population agricole ne se fera pas seulement par les mesures étudiées, sous-budgétées ou dont les effets sont surestimés / This thesis deals with the context of the accession of Romania to the EU and more widely with thesecond post-communist decade (2000-2010) in which we analyse the evolution of Romanian agricultural structures. In this context, the question of the main factors of structural changes arised as well as the role of supportive public policies. Firstly, the theoretical framework based on development economics and historical institutional economics is built. It then enables in a first partthe analysis of the embeddedness of Romanian agricultural sector within its social context. In thispart, we are also define and characterize so called “agricultural production structures”. The role of agriculture as a social buffer is also observed over the period studied, in addition to other forms of regulation which have emerged (national and international migrations). Structural evolutions arethen analysed using different databases. We observed a decrease in smaller units for the benefit of the average farms. Larger farms have also known a decrease in number and in size, which we attribute to restitution and to the end of privatization. The thesis attempts to identify the factors of these evolutions (survival and growth) using an econometric model in two stages. For that purposewe are also compare the evolution of Romanian structures to those of other European countries including Hungary and Slovenia. Finally, a policy evaluation is conducted on a series of measures identified to have restructuring goal. It appears that in general the absorption of funds, the intermediate target, is prefered to rural penetration of these levers, which is the final objective of thepolicy. Thus, while support for average farms seems relevant somes limitations appear in the implementation. Finally, the reorientation of the agricultural population will not be achieved onlyby the measures studied, for they are under-budgeted or because their effects are over-estimated / Teza susţinută se deruleaza în contextul aderării României la UE, şi pe scară mai largă teza analizeaza evoluţia structurilor de producţie agricola românesti pe al doilea deceniu post-comunist(2000-2010). În acest context, se pune problema pe principalii factori de schimbare structurală şirolul politicilor publice de susţinere. In primul rând, un cadru teoretic bazat pe economie dedezvoltare şi economie istorica instituţională este construit. Multumita acestui cadru se poateanaliza într-o primă parte, sectorul agricol românesc cuprins in sfera sociala, după definirea şi caracterizarea a ceea ce sa numit "structurile agricole de producţie”. Rolul de amortizor social aagriculturii se mai observa în perioada studiată, cu toate că alte forme de regulare au apărut(emigraţia naţionala şi internaţionala). Se face apoi observarea evoluţiilor folosind diferite baze dedate. Şi se observă o reducere în unităţi mai mici în beneficiul fermelor medii. Entităţile mai mari,de asemenea, cunosc o micşorare negativa în număr şi mărime, pe care le atribuim la sfârşitul procesului de privatizare şi de restituire. Teza încearcă să identifice apoi aceşti factori (de supravieţuire şi de creştere), utilizând un model econometric în două etape. Comparam evoluţia structurilor româneşti, cu cele din alte ţări europene, inclusiv Ungaria şi Slovenia. În ultima parte, oevaluarea politică se desfăşoară pe o serie de măsuri identificate pentru a avea un obiectiv de restructurare. Se pare că, în general, absorbţia fondurilor, obiectivul intermediar, este privilegiata laprenetratie in mediu rural din aceste pârghii, obiectivul final al politicii. Astfel, în timp ce sprijinulpentru fermele medii pare relevant apar niste limitarii în punerea în aplicare. In sfirsit, reorientarea populaţiei agricole va avea loc nu numai prin măsurile studiate, care sunt sub-bugetate sau ale cărorefecte sunt supra-estimate

The Diploma thesis focuses on the issues of social exclusion and people threatened by social exclusion phenomenon. In the thesis I address the process of social inclusion, which is related to socially excluded localities based on particular characteristics and local problems. A separate chapter is devoted to the method of community work that is focused on the effective response to the needs of socially excluded people. Furthermore I emphasize the work of the Agency for Social Inclusion, a major instrument of the Government of the Czech Republic, providing support to municipalities in the process of social integration. The relationship of the majority towards the socially excluded is also discussed within the thesis. Many studies consider the municipality and its government to represent the key role in the process of social inclusion of people endangered by social exclusion. However in the reality there are big differences among the municipalities with regard to the operation and support of socially excluded people. Social departments of some municipalities are acting proactively, others are not. The main difference lies in the self-government approach. Therefore I decided to focus my Diploma thesis research on this particular issue. The aim of the thesis is to describe the attitudes of the members...

The Diploma thesis focuses on the topic of Socially excluded locality and its perception by municipal politicians. The topic is researched in three specific municipalities within a region and on the approach of local municipal politicians towards the issue of social exclusion, while the close proximity of the municipalities also allows to monitor the diversity of particular municipality's approaches on the issue of social exclusion. In the thesis the concept of social exclusion is defined and also described historically both in global and European context. The concept of social exclusion is closely related to the topic of socially excluded locality and the adoption of socially vulnerable people by the majority, therefore the second chapter of the thesis is devoted to this topic. Another theme prepared on the basis of the professional literature focuses on description of the specific situation in the Czech Republic, possibilities and scope of national and municipal politicians' activity. In the last chapter the possibilities of support and work with socially excluded citizens are introduced. Many studies consider the municipality and its government to represent the key role in the process of social inclusion of people endangered by social exclusion. However there are big differences among the...

This thesis investigates how everyday patterns of interactions among civil society organizations are transformed in a relatively short period of time when major changes in the broader political context occur. More precisely, it focuses on civic organizations engaged in environmental activism and advocacy in the Basque Country, examining whether ETA’s decision to abandon the armed struggle on October 20th, 2011 has affected their dynamics of collaboration. Combining diverse theoretical elements from the literature on social movements, together with insights from studies of civil society and peacebuilding, and relying upon the conceptual and methodological toolbox of social network analysis (SNA), I analyze the evolution of interorganizational networks of collective action before and after the end of violence, specifically, between the years 2007 and 2017. The empirical core of the dissertation is comprised by chapters 5, 6 and 7. Chapter 5 examines the varying impact of two main external ideological cleavages (national identity and position towards ETA’s violence) on interorganizational collaboration. The findings confirm that allegiances and conflicts related to these two dimensions used to condition collaborative ties between organizations up to 2011, while during the more recent post-conflict period collaborative patterns seem to be less segmented along ideological lines. Chapter 6 complements the preceding one by adding into the analysis several other non-ideological predictors of interorganizational collaboration. Results show that, with the end of ETA’s armed struggle, pragmatic-instrumental factors and interpersonal bonds seem to play a larger role as drivers of public collaboration. Next, chapter 7 engages in a quite different and more exploratory kind of analysis. Applying Diani’s modes of coordination (MoC) analytical framework, I explore whether the underlying relational logics through which civic actors engage with one another have significantly changed before and after the end of violence. The structural network analyses conducted reveal that social movement patterns of relations have expanded after 2011, becoming dominant vis-à-vis other modes of coordination. At the same time, actors embedded in a social movement mode of coordination are slightly more heterogeneous after the definitive demise of the violent conflict in comparison with the previous phase. Taken as a whole, these findings can be interpreted as positive signs of post-conflict normalization of socio-political life in the Basque Country. The fact that environmental civic networks are now denser and more cross-cutting does not only mirror the lower saliency of the cleavages that used to severely condition Basque politics, but it can also serve as a powerful mechanism through which a more tolerant and vibrant democratic community can progressively be built. Overall, this dissertation provides a more nuanced and complex view of the role played by organized civil society and social movements in deeply divided communities, underlining the need to focus on their relational structure in order to correctly assess their potential impact on social integration and the functioning of democracy. Moreover, by analyzing networks among civic organizations in a longitudinal perspective, this dissertation makes several original contributions to social movement scholarship, especially to the stream of literature focusing on coalition making. Methodologically, the replication or adaptation of the empirical design employed in this research could be instrumental in fostering more longitudinal examinations of collective action fields, which until now remain scarce. From a theoretical standpoint, this investigation underlines the context-dependent nature of even well-established patterns of political interactions, underscoring the need to pay more attention to the complex interplay between historical conjunctures and underlying everyday patterns of sociopolitical behavior.