Comment les enfants se représentent-ils l’univers politique spécialisé ? Cette thèse prend pour objet les connaissances, les croyances et les opinions politiques des enfants. Il s’agit, en s’intéressant à ce public spécifique, d’apporter une contribution à la littérature sur les rapports ordinaires à la politique. La thèse présente les résultats d’une enquête empirique alliant méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives, menée dans huit écoles primaires socialement diversifiées. Elle examine les éléments dont disposent les enfants pour appréhender l’univers politique et prête attention aux différences entre eux à ce sujet. Il s’agit notamment d’étudier la compétence politique des enquêtés, tant du point de vue de leurs connaissances politiques que de leur compétence statutaire. L’examen du poids de variables telles que l’âge, le genre ou le milieu social permet ainsi d’interroger la genèse des inégalités de politisation. Il s’agit également de mettre à jour les bricolages grâce auxquels les enfants parviennent, malgré leur compétence en général limitée, à donner du sens à l’univers politique, c’est-à-dire à le comprendre, le juger et s’y situer. La thèse étudie l’imbrication entre les dimensions cognitives et normatives de la socialisation politique : elle indique que les jugements de valeurs et les opinions sont intériorisés par les enfants sur le mode de l’évidence, à l’instar des connaissances factuelles. Elle montre ainsi que les rapports des individus à la politique découlent de la réappropriation des messages pluriels provenant de leur environnement. / How do children view the specialized political universe? This dissertation studies children’s political knowledge, beliefs and opinions. It aims, through the study of this specific population, to contribute to the literature on ordinary relations to politics. It presents the results of an empirical study which was led in eight socially-diverse schools and combines both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study investigates which elements are available to the children in order to understand the political universe, and it pays attention to the differences between them, in particular regarding their political competence. The examination of the impact of variables such as age, gender or social environment contributes to understanding the roots of the inequalities in politicization. The dissertation also looks at the way children manage, despite of their generally limited political competence, to make sense of the political universe, in other words to understand and judge it. It studies the intertwining between cognitive and normative dimensions of political socialization: it indicates that judgments and opinions are interiorized by children as if they were evident, just as if they were factual knowledge. It thus shows that individual relations to politics are built on the re-appropriation of the plural messages coming from the environment.

Southern Africa faced a serious food security crisis after a three-year drought which started in the 1999/2000 season. In 2002, Zimbabwe and its neighbours declared food emergencies. With improved climatic conditions in 2003, Zimbabwe failed to recuperate from the crisis despite its neighbours showing signs of recovery. Instead, the food crisis in Zimbabwe intensified and has threatened the lives of many ordinary Zimbabweans. This paper argues that the land reform programme and its after effects, other government policies, international sanctions and intractable political posturing have all played a significant role in causing and prolonging the post 2000 food crisis in Zimbabwe. International and local food aid became a priority to feed the millions of hungry Zimbabweans. With severe food shortages, food aid became an important political tool used by the main players in the food distribution process to win support or discredit the other side. Drawing from the political theories of famine, this research argues that the food crisis in Zimbabwe is largely due to the failure of political accountability by the government of Zimbabwe, and also by the international relief organizations and other stakeholders who are in and outside Zimbabwe. With a thorough review of primary, secondary and scholarly literature, helped by informal discussions with people living in Zimbabwe, the research found out that the Zimbabwe food crisis has thus far failed to be resolved due to lack of political commitment and competence by the government of Zimbabwe; and an unwillingness by the international community to work with the Mugabe government which many in the west see as a dictatorship.

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The United Nations charter-based human rights apparatus has long been plagued by concerns of politicization. This pervasive issue first brought the demise of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2006 and led to the creation of an entirely new entity, the United Nations Human Rights Council, in the hope of answering the concerns of the international community. Although major reforms were undertaken, politicization is now once again cited as one of the main issues of the new Council. In this essay, we identify the source of politicization as the intergovernmental nature of these human rights bodies, and suggest that mitigation of this issue is possible through the reform of the Council’s membership. The creation of a mixed expert-state body will allow for a more functional, depoliticized body in the protection and promotion of human rights.

The United Nations charter-based human rights apparatus has long been plagued by concerns of politicization. This pervasive issue first brought the demise of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2006 and led to the creation of an entirely new entity, the United Nations Human Rights Council, in the hope of answering the concerns of the international community. Although major reforms were undertaken, politicization is now once again cited as one of the main issues of the new Council. In this essay, we identify the source of politicization as the intergovernmental nature of these human rights bodies, and suggest that mitigation of this issue is possible through the reform of the Council’s membership. The creation of a mixed expert-state body will allow for a more functional, depoliticized body in the protection and promotion of human rights.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The ideal and practice of administrative neutrality has been problematic in the public services of liberal democracies since the middle of the 19th century. Either the ideal was interpreted very narrowly to exclude public administration from political processes, or it has been too broadly incorporated to render its meaning practically useless. However, both literature and practice continue to emphasize the importance of the ideal. This study has attempted to clarify the meaning of the concept by examining its evolution and applicability in various liberal democratic states. Additionally, the study has developed a model of administrative neutrality for the post- apartheid South African public service. The study was guided by three broad assumptions: and these were: i) that the concept of administrative neutrality was not an antonym of politicization, and that whenever such meaning was imputed its applicability was bound to be compromised if not misguided; ii) that the applicability of administrative neutrality depended, among other things, on the constitutional experience and context of a given country; and that iii) administrative neutrality tended to emphasize those elements that are topical at a given time in a given country. Comparative experiences of older liberal democracies examined in the study lent support to these broad assumptions: thus, the British version of administrative neutrality has been conditioned by its political and administrative traditions in which the evolution of democratic political institutions dictated the subjection of administrative institutions to elected political leadership. By contrast, the French experience has reflected that country's administrative history in which public administration evolved much earlier than liberal democracy, and practices like permitting civil servants to seek political office without having to resign their posts was perceived as posing no danger to the ideal of neutrality. Similarly, the American model in which the top layer of public administrators are political appointees has been a product of its history which has had a heavy dosage of partisan patronage. However, despite the differences in terms of models and applicability of the concept the public services in all older liberal democracies examined showed a clear commitment to administrative neutrality in the form of a professionally appointed and managed public service. All the three older democracies examined here has clearly done away with the concept of patronage in the professional section of their public services. Based on the analysis of the three older democracies, a model has been developed for post-apartheid South Africa. First, it was observed that current practices of administrative neutrality in South Africa have been heavily influenced by both apartheid and British or Whitehall traditions. However, the 1996 constitution prescribes a public service that is nonpartisan and impartial, with the public service commission as the watchdog for its implementation. The study has noted that a few problems exist in the current practice of administrative neutrality. First, the practice of involving the minister in the department or premier in the province in matters of appointing permanent staff was regarded as anomalous. Second, that there was lack of specification of involvement by level of civil servants in partisan activities. Third, that the present arrangements do not make adequate checks and balances between ministerial responsibility for personnel and the role of the public service commission, and between the minister and the director- general. Fourth and finally, the absence of the head of the civil service who could cultivate, promote and defend the ethic of civil service neutrality. The proposed model addresses these issues and includes the following elements: commitment to national goals as a recognition of the fact that administrative neutrality does not mean avoidance of national political ideals and goals; merit as the basis for appointment and promotion to ensure against the spoils system; partisan neutrality in which civil servants at all levels do not participate in any partisan activities, but that this provision could be reviewed from time to time as the country's administrative culture evolves; institutional checks and balances in which the public service commission, the head of the civil service , and the re-designing of the office and even title of the director-general. At the moment there are no really checks and balances vis-a-vis ministerial role in the civil service. Finally, the model recommends general fairness and impartiality of the civil service as part of the neutrality concept. The model might meet some resistance due to entrenched traditions of the past or misconstruing of the ideal of neutrality itself by current practitioners. The study concludes by posing a few questions: what is the relationship between neutrality and civil service effectiveness? How does the policy of representative bureaucracy (i.e.: affirmative action) impact upon the merit principle? These and other questions have not been addressed in the study due to limitation of time and resources. Nonetheless, the ideal of administrative neutrality holds out the hope for a civil service that is emerging from the scars of apartheid politicization.

The MeToo movement, which sought to combat sexual violence, evolved into a partisan problem, where support for or against the movement fell across party lines. This polarization negatively impacted the progress of the MeToo movement, fitting the larger pattern of increasing polarization in the United States. My thesis seeks to understand the politicized nature of sexual violence and to explore what language and themes are drawn on to politicize conversations around sexual violence by using the MeToo movement as a case study. My thesis found that the political polarization of sexual violence increased during the MeToo movement (and especially during and after the Kavanaugh hearing) primarily through detractors' language and framing of the issue. #MeToo detractors employed legalistic, violent, and misogynistic language to victimize the accused and villainize victims and supporters. In contrast, #MeToo supporters consistently used legalistic language to advocate for survivors' rights to state support in the face of actual violence. Insight on these politicizing discourses reveals a need for Democrats and Republicans to take on #MeToo policy reforms that both address due process and human rights while refraining from a victim/villain dichotomy.

The Welfare Reform Bill Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 contains a section referred to as "Charitable Choice." This section was designed to ensure that faith-based agencies were not discriminated against in the awarding of federal funding. States are not required to implement any part of the initiative, except ensuring that there is no discrimination against faith-based organizations. States have responded in a variety of ways in the hope of increasing the number of faith-based organizations receiving and competing for social services funds. Although religious groups have been receiving government funds to provide social services for much of American history, the faith-based initiative represents a new effort from both state and federal government to encourage even greater participation. There has been a tremendous amount of research on the impact of the faith-based organizations; however, very little attention has been given to the non-religious based social service organizations. To understand the impact of the faith-based implementation on non-religious based social service agencies, the primary focus was on examining: personnel, clientele, programs and services data, as well as internal and external factors. The secondary focus was determining if the implementation of the faith-based initiative signified the “second-order of devolution.” The study focused on three NBSSOs in Washington, D.C. Interviews were conducted with agency officials and data collected from all three agencies. While supporters argue that the faith-based initiative is about solving problems of poverty, taxing an over-burdened welfare system and violating the constitution, the researcher found that there was no impact of the faith-based initiative on non-religious based social service organizations. The participating agencies had been impacted by elected officials, public policy and federal funding, however; research also shows that there was no evidence of a “second-order of devolution.” The expected outsourcing of public services and the creation of numerous models of welfare systems with a variety of public-private partnerships that included secular non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations and religious organizations had not occurred.

Esta tese versa sobre o processo de transformação do status social dos pardos livres da América ibérica ocorrido ao longo do período compreendido entre a segunda metade do século XVIII e o ano de 1808. Trata-se de uma abordagem comparada que analisa a América portuguesa e o Caribe espanhol considerando-se, no interior deste, especificamente o Vice-Reino de Nova Granada, a Capitania Geral da Venezuela e a Capitania Geral de Cuba como unidades históricas conectadas por processos comuns, cujos desdobramentos variaram de acordo com condicionamentos específicos de cada espaço. Em decorrência do passado escravo, os pardos livres eram estigmatizados e considerados juridicamente inabilitados ao exercício de funções sociais específicas nos âmbitos político, civil, eclesiástico e militar. A tese analisa, por um lado, os fundamentos dos estigmas associados aos pardos e, por outro lado, as pressões exercidas pelos próprios pardos com o objetivo de superar as restrições legais. A documentação que sustenta a análise é constituída principalmente de petições e requerimentos enviados por eles visando à obtenção de privilégios e honras que garantiam prestígio social. Por meio deles, percebe-se a articulação de um discurso comum baseado em representações positivadas acerca do grupo que originou e alimentou um movimento de positivação da identidade parda no mundo iberoamericano. Examinam-se igualmente os posicionamentos de autoridades metropolitanas, coloniais e das elites locais frente às pretensões dos pardos, o que permite evidenciar a existência de um campo de tensões envolvendo diretamente o problema da inserção social e política desse segmento social. As reformas promovidas pelas monarquias ibéricas após o fim da Guerra dos Sete Anos (1756-1763) aprofundaram significativamente essas tensões, pois ampliaram o papel exercido pelos pardos na manutenção dos espaços coloniais, garantindo-lhes maiores parcelas de poder. Destaca-se particularmente o impacto das reformas militares, entendendo-se que elas transformaram as milícias em nichos de politização decisivos para a atuação dos pardos como um grupo de pressão, pois suas demandas por honras e privilégios passaram a ser dotadas de legitimidade institucional. Defende-se que em fins do século XVIII, sobretudo ao longo da década de 1790, houve uma ampliação das expectativas manifestadas pelos pardos, que passaram a vislumbrar a superação dos entraves legais e a consolidação de um novo status sociojurídico sintetizado pela ideia de habilitação plena. Em 1808, ano decisivo para a definição do futuro político das possessões americanas, as tensões que envolviam a elevação do status social dos pardos seguiam como um traço importante da crise que atingia as monarquias ibéricas. / This study approaches in the transformation process of the Free Pardo people status which occurred in Iberian America during the period between the second half of the eighteenth century and the year 1808. This is a comparative approach that analyzes Portuguese America and the Spanish Caribbean specifically the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the General Captaincy of Venezuela and the General Captaincy of Cuba as historical units connected by common processes, whose developments varied according to specific conditions of each space. As a result of the slave past, Free Pardo were stigmatized and considered legally unfit for the exercise of social functions as well the political, civil, ecclesiastical and military instances. This study analyzes, on the one hand, the foundations of the stigmas associated with the Pardo and, on the other hand, the pressures exerted by the Pardo themselves in order to overcome legal restrictions. The documentation that supports the analysis consists mainly of petitions and requests sent by them seeking to obtain privileges and honors that guaranteed social prestige. Through them, the articulation of a common discourse based on positive representations about the group that originated and fed a movement of affirmations of Free Pardo identity, in the Ibero-American, can be perceived. The positions of metropolitan, colonial and local elites are also examined according to Free Pardo people pretensions, which allows us to show the existence of a field of tensions directly involving the social problem and political insertion in this social segment. The reforms promoted by the Iberian monarchies, after the end of the Seven Years War (1756-1763), significantly deepened these tensions, as they increased the role played by the Pardo in maintaining colonial spaces, granting them greater spheres of power. The impact of military reforms is particularly noteworthy, since they have transformed the militias into niches of politicization. This process was decisive for the Pardo as a pressure group, since their demands for honors and privileges have been endowed with institutional legitimacy. This study also support that at the end of the 18th century, especially during the 1790s, there was an increase in the expectations expressed by the Pardo, who began to see the overcoming of legal obstacles and the consolidation of a new socio-juridical status synthesized by the idea of full habilitation. In 1808, the decisive year for the definition of the political future of the American possessions, the tensions that involved the elevation of the Pardo social status followed as an important trace of the crisis that reached the Iberian monarchies.

Esta tese versa sobre o processo de transformação do status social dos pardos livres da América ibérica ocorrido ao longo do período compreendido entre a segunda metade do século XVIII e o ano de 1808. Trata-se de uma abordagem comparada que analisa a América portuguesa e o Caribe espanhol considerando-se, no interior deste, especificamente o Vice-Reino de Nova Granada, a Capitania Geral da Venezuela e a Capitania Geral de Cuba como unidades históricas conectadas por processos comuns, cujos desdobramentos variaram de acordo com condicionamentos específicos de cada espaço. Em decorrência do passado escravo, os pardos livres eram estigmatizados e considerados juridicamente inabilitados ao exercício de funções sociais específicas nos âmbitos político, civil, eclesiástico e militar. A tese analisa, por um lado, os fundamentos dos estigmas associados aos pardos e, por outro lado, as pressões exercidas pelos próprios pardos com o objetivo de superar as restrições legais. A documentação que sustenta a análise é constituída principalmente de petições e requerimentos enviados por eles visando à obtenção de privilégios e honras que garantiam prestígio social. Por meio deles, percebe-se a articulação de um discurso comum baseado em representações positivadas acerca do grupo que originou e alimentou um movimento de positivação da identidade parda no mundo iberoamericano. Examinam-se igualmente os posicionamentos de autoridades metropolitanas, coloniais e das elites locais frente às pretensões dos pardos, o que permite evidenciar a existência de um campo de tensões envolvendo diretamente o problema da inserção social e política desse segmento social. As reformas promovidas pelas monarquias ibéricas após o fim da Guerra dos Sete Anos (1756-1763) aprofundaram significativamente essas tensões, pois ampliaram o papel exercido pelos pardos na manutenção dos espaços coloniais, garantindo-lhes maiores parcelas de poder. Destaca-se particularmente o impacto das reformas militares, entendendo-se que elas transformaram as milícias em nichos de politização decisivos para a atuação dos pardos como um grupo de pressão, pois suas demandas por honras e privilégios passaram a ser dotadas de legitimidade institucional. Defende-se que em fins do século XVIII, sobretudo ao longo da década de 1790, houve uma ampliação das expectativas manifestadas pelos pardos, que passaram a vislumbrar a superação dos entraves legais e a consolidação de um novo status sociojurídico sintetizado pela ideia de habilitação plena. Em 1808, ano decisivo para a definição do futuro político das possessões americanas, as tensões que envolviam a elevação do status social dos pardos seguiam como um traço importante da crise que atingia as monarquias ibéricas. / This study approaches in the transformation process of the Free Pardo people status which occurred in Iberian America during the period between the second half of the eighteenth century and the year 1808. This is a comparative approach that analyzes Portuguese America and the Spanish Caribbean specifically the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the General Captaincy of Venezuela and the General Captaincy of Cuba as historical units connected by common processes, whose developments varied according to specific conditions of each space. As a result of the slave past, Free Pardo were stigmatized and considered legally unfit for the exercise of social functions as well the political, civil, ecclesiastical and military instances. This study analyzes, on the one hand, the foundations of the stigmas associated with the Pardo and, on the other hand, the pressures exerted by the Pardo themselves in order to overcome legal restrictions. The documentation that supports the analysis consists mainly of petitions and requests sent by them seeking to obtain privileges and honors that guaranteed social prestige. Through them, the articulation of a common discourse based on positive representations about the group that originated and fed a movement of affirmations of Free Pardo identity, in the Ibero-American, can be perceived. The positions of metropolitan, colonial and local elites are also examined according to Free Pardo people pretensions, which allows us to show the existence of a field of tensions directly involving the social problem and political insertion in this social segment. The reforms promoted by the Iberian monarchies, after the end of the Seven Years War (1756-1763), significantly deepened these tensions, as they increased the role played by the Pardo in maintaining colonial spaces, granting them greater spheres of power. The impact of military reforms is particularly noteworthy, since they have transformed the militias into niches of politicization. This process was decisive for the Pardo as a pressure group, since their demands for honors and privileges have been endowed with institutional legitimacy. This study also support that at the end of the 18th century, especially during the 1790s, there was an increase in the expectations expressed by the Pardo, who began to see the overcoming of legal obstacles and the consolidation of a new socio-juridical status synthesized by the idea of full habilitation. In 1808, the decisive year for the definition of the political future of the American possessions, the tensions that involved the elevation of the Pardo social status followed as an important trace of the crisis that reached the Iberian monarchies.