During the last decades, funk music produced in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro has been travelling the world as a genre of contemporary cool. Construed as both hip and authentic and consumed globally, it has become a political and commercial asset in the nation’s rise to economic dominance and in Rio’s campaign to become a global city. In Brazil, however, favela funk draws the boundaries between the shanty towns of the urban margins, where it remains a social practice, and the state, by which it is condemned and sometimes prohibited for lyrics that allude to violence in an alleged glorification of gang power. This dissertation is an ethnographic inquiry into social life and power relations in one of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. It tells the story of how a drug-dealing faction challenges the sovereignty of the state on its turf by means of both arms and the control and distribution of pleasure and fun. Funk, in this account, emerges as an immensely popular social practice and thus an instrument of drug-dealing power. By treating violence and the sexually explicit as both unifying and fragmenting in the social dynamics of this place, the dissertation uncovers the paths that favela youth tread in the context of severe poverty, vulnerability and limited access to state institutions and formal employment.

The thesis aims to describe the changing position of a nation state in contemporary economic-political structure as a result of globalization processes. The object of interest is the interrelation of state with transnational actors, but also other states with regard to the concept of competitiveness.

Ce travail divisé en trois parties est un effort de récupération du concept de souveraineté. Le point de départ théorique de la thèse réside dans l’affirmation que la possibilité de penser la politique dans la modernité et à l’époque contemporaine passe par la nécessité d’affirmation d’un principe de souveraineté. Il l’avoue, d’abord, la nécessité d’une brève reprise de son sens historique, revisitant les origines de la pensée politique moderne et en identifient là les éléments constitutifs de la notion de souveraineté qui opèrent aujourd’hui dans les différentes théories du pouvoir. Mais le plus grand effet de cette reprise doit être compris en termes d’un effort de « réhabilitation » de la souveraineté. Cet objectif, cependant, nécessite deux mouvements parallèles : 1) la tentative de reconnaitre la présence de la souveraineté ou de certains de ses éléments-clés au sein des théories qui la rejettent, soit pour des raisons politiques ou épistémologiques ; 2) l’indication des éventuelles nouvelles articulations des éléments de la souveraineté, de telle sorte qu’elle puisse reprendre sa puissance d’analyse et d’explication sur la réalité du pouvoir. En général, le travail cherche à récupérer non exactement l’histoire du concept, mais les opérateurs cognitifs de la souveraineté qui lui ont été attribuées dans un moment historique particulier. De l’identification de ces opérateurs, je tiens à souligner sa présence dans des formulations apparemment défavorables à l’idée du souverain. Cette argumentation a demandé, dans sa première partie, un retour aux ordonnateurs et classiques de ce grand thème. / This work is divided into three parts an effort of reconstruction of the concept of sovereignty. The theoretical starting point of the argument lies in the assertion that the possibility of thinking of politics in modern and contemporary times passes through the need for affirmation of the principle of sovereignty. It admits, at first, the need for a quick recovery of its historical sense, revisiting the origins of modern political thought and there identifying the elements of the concept of sovereignty, which now operates in the different theories of power. But the biggest effect of that recovery is to be understood in terms of an effort to the “rehabilitation” of sovereignty. This goal, however, requires two parallel movements: 1) an attempt to recognize the presence of the sovereignty or some of its key elements in theories that reject it, either for political or epistemological reasons; 2) an indication of any new joint elements of sovereignty, so that it can regain its power of analysis and explanation of the reality of power. In general, the work seeks to recover not exactly the history of the concept, but the cognitive operators of sovereignty that have been allocated in a particular historical moment. From the identification of these operators, I want to emphasize its presence in seemingly unfavourable formulations to the idea of the sovereign. This argument has requested, in the first part, a return to the classics of this great theme.

Em linhas gerais o projeto consiste numa abordagem do pensamento do escritor francês Georges Bataille, no viés de sua crítica à razão ocidental, tendo por base a noção de experiência, através da qual o autor desenvolve uma teoria do excesso e do impossível, colocando-se num horizonte de indagação de fenômenos que escapam à normalidade do discurso racional construído sob a égide do logocentrismo. Assim, a tese em questão pretende confrontar-se com fenômenos como o do erotismo, do êxtase, da mística, da poesia e da violência que constituem, propriamente, uma dobra do real pela via do excesso. Interessa analisar o modo pelo qual estes fenômenos de exceção são interpretados pela linguagem e criticados no campo textual. O louvor do excesso a que alude o título da pesquisa diz respeito ao entendimento da noção de transgressão no pensamento e na obra batailleana. Nesse universo a transgressão é vista como um dispositivo acionado pela proibição, que lhe serve de complemento fundamental. A transgressão assim põe em funcionamento as forças heterogêneas da experiência que excedem o pensamento e o discurso. A obra de Bataille não deixa de ser um esforço geral no sentido de trazer à luz da inteligência os fenômenos da experiência, como o erotismo, a violência, a poesia, o riso, o êxtase, já que, via de regra, não são contemplados pela razão ocidental. / In general terms, the project consists in an overview of the work of the French writer Georges Bataille, in regards to his critique of the Western reasoning, having as a base the notion of experience, through which the author develops a theory of the excess and of the impossible, that is, a horizon of questioning phenomena which escape the normality of rational discourse constructed under the aegis of logocentrism. Thus, the thesis in question intends to confront phenomena like eroticism, ecstasy, mysticism, poetry and violence that are, properly, a fold of the real through the way of excess. It seeks to analyze the way in which these phenomena of exception are interpreted through the language and criticized in the textual field. The praise of excess referred to in the title of the research relates to the understanding of the notion of transgression in the batailleanas thought and work. In this universe transgression is seen as a device triggered by prohibition, which serves as its essential complement. Transgression thus sets in motion the heterogeneous forces of experience which exceed the thought and speech. Batailles work does not cease to be a general effort in the sense of bringing to the light of intelligence the phenomena of experience, like eroticism, violence, poetry, laughter, ecstasy, since, as a rule, these are not covered by Western reasoning.

Pays fragile par excellence, le Tchad, dont le niveau de développement est parmi le plus bas au monde, pourrait se résumer par la formule d’Helman et Ratner utilisée dans leur article Failed States paru en 1994, comme un État « simplement incapables de fonctionner en tant qu’entités indépendantes ».Alors pourquoi a-t-il demandé le retrait de la MINURCAT, la mission de sécurisation européenne et onusienne déployée sur son sol en 2008. Nous postulons que la conséquence négative de la relation entre ces deux acteurs, matérialisée par l’exclusion de la MINURCAT, est à chercher dans une étude de la nature des espaces de rencontre et leurs effets, directs ou indirects, sur le Tchad. En effet, cette thèse met l’accent sur le caractère systémique du lien social entre le Tchad et les Nations unies et entend ainsi catégoriser les espaces de mise en relation comme un système à trois variables : la socialisation, l’éloignement et la rupture. L’analyse de la rencontre en termes de « spatialité » permet l’étude du lien entre « les temps et les lieux symboliques de l’interaction », qui donne la possibilité d’établir les motivations d’agir et les modes de formulation. Ces derniers consacrent l’établissement d’un nouveau langage : celui de la revendication d’une souveraineté qui ne soit pas de façade et de sa reconnaissance par la communauté internationale. Il conviendra d’étudier, d’une part, la formation progressive de cet espace de jugement et, d’autre part, la volonté manifeste de contrer le déni de reconnaissance qui permet au Tchad d’achever son rapport à sa souveraineté. / Fragile state, Chad, which level of development is among the world’s lowest, could be defined in Helman and Ratner’s words as " simply unable to work as independent entity ", as described in their article Failed States published in 1994. Than why did he asked for the withdrawal of the MINURCAT, the European and UN military mission, deployed in 2008? We acknowledge that the negative impact of the relation between these two actors, shown in the exclusion of the MINURCAT, can be explained studying the nature of the “encountering spheres” and their effects, both direct and indirect on Chad. Indeed, this thesis emphasizes on the systemic character of the social link between Chad and the United Nations and therefore intends to categorize the spaces of getting in touch as a three variable system: the socialization, the estrangement and the break. The analysis of the meeting in terms of "spatiality" allows the study of the link between "time and symbolic spheres of the interaction ", which gives enables to establish the incentives to act and the ways of formulation. The latters establish the terms of a new speech based on the claim for a sovereignty which would not be a sovereignty of facade and its recognition by the international community. We will study, on the one hand, the gradual formation of such a space of assessment and, on the other hand, the will to counter the denial of recognition which allows Chad to complete its relationship to its own sovereignty.

As fronteiras não acabaram como foi preconizado apressadamente na década de 1990. Elas se constituem de processos histórica e geograficamente dinâmicos. Os tipos, características e significados de fronteiras e limites se transformam ao longo dos tempos e se manifestam de diferentes formas em cada lugar e período onde ocorrem. Para além das características geográficas básicas, as fronteiras marítimas e terrestres do território brasileiro foram constituídas por diversos e distintos processos. As disputas territoriais seculares, que perpassaram períodos históricos desde os tempos coloniais, culminaram no processo de estabelecimento de fato das fronteiras terrestres brasileiras apenas no século XX. Hoje, já consolidadas, suas novas significações descartam sua função original ligada à expansão territorial, mas mantém uma outra, a de defesa, mesmo que sob novas formas de atuação. Atualmente, se verificam em diversos pontos dessas fronteiras, variados processos de ocupação, de interação internacional e de integração local, regional e nacional. Nas fronteiras marítimas do Brasil, percebe-se simultaneamente a dinâmica expansiva e a ocupação por exploração e por defesa. A origem desse processo se encontra no pós Segunda Guerra Mundial, quando os países costeiros dispararam, a partir de ação unilateral dos Estados Unidos, o processo de territorialização das águas marítimas que encerraram, ou ao menos limitaram a visão dos mares e oceanos inteiramente internacionalizados. Foram instituídas, no âmbito da ONU, faixas de soberania e de direitos de soberania aos países costeiros mar adentro. Seus processos de delimitação se tornaram foco geopolítico mediados por normatizações internacionais, cujas aplicações se encontram, ainda, em processo de estabelecimento. É o caso das fronteiras marítimas do Brasil que, em 2007, conseguiu referendar na ONU parte de suas requisições de expansão de suas águas jurisdicionais onde exerce direitos de soberania. / The borderlands haven\'t disappeared as it was headlessly proclaimed last decade. They are constituted by historic and geographical dynamic processes. Types, characteristics and meanings of borderlands and boundaries are transformed along the time and manifest themselves in different ways every place and moment they occur. Besides the basic geographic characteristics, sea and terrestrial boundaries of Brazilian territory have been constituted by several different processes. The territorial disputes that have been happening over the last centuries, passed by historical periods since colonial times, and culminated in the process of establishment of Brazilian territorial borderlands only during 20th century. Today, already consolidated, its new significations reject its original function linked to territorial expansion, but keep another one, which is the defense, even though under new ways of acting. Nowadays, in several places of these borderlands, different occupation processes of international interaction and local, regional and national integration are verified. In the maritime boundaries of Brazil, it is noticed simultaneously, the expansive dynamics and the occupation by exploration and defense. The origin of this process is found in post-World War II, when coastal countries trigged, from a unilateral act of the United States, the sea waters territorialization process that ended, or at least limited the idea of seas and oceans totally internationalized. It has been instituted, within the ambit of United Nations, ocean belts of sovereignty and rights of coastal countries. Their processes of delimitation have become geopolitical focus mediated by international normative acts, whose applications are still in process of establishment. That is the case of maritime boundaries of Brazil which, in 2007, managed to obtain part of its requests related to expansion of waters under its jurisdiction where the country has rights of sovereignty.

In the current investment climate, most investor-state disputes are settled through investment arbitration. Investor-state arbitration enables the foreign investor to bring a case before a neutral forum, whose decision is binding and enforceable in countries across the world. In instances where the dispute is governed by an arbitration clause, the clause places the disputing parties under the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal. In the event of achieving a victory, the investor may nonetheless come up against the obstacle of state sovereignty, even though the state party has ostensibly waived sovereign immunity from jurisdiction. If a state rejects to comply with an award, then investors must commence a worldwide search (forum-shopping), with a view to retrieving the assets that have been awarded. In instances where the state party is victorious, there is a danger that the award payment will not be made if the foreign investor has already declared bankruptcy. Although there are two Conventions (ICSID and the New York Convention) that facilitate the enforcement of arbitral awards, neither one is sufficient to preclude the emergence of the enforcement issue. In both instances, this issue is damaging as it wastes time and money, ultimately contributing to wider inefficiencies and uncertainties in investor-state arbitration. In addressing themselves to this problem and aspiring to the reduction of the obstacle of sovereign immunity from execution, scholars and practitioners have put forward two practical solutions; firstly, a hybrid sovereignty act has been proposed; secondly, it has been suggested that the World Bank could take punitive action, refusing to provide the state party with further loans until the award is resolved. However, these proposals have, to date, not been practically applied or developed. This thesis has two primary objectives: firstly, it attempts to analyse previous solutions that have been addressed to the enforcement issue of ICSID awards: secondly, it addresses itself to two alternatives: 1) that the ICSID Administrative council can review compliance with awards; 2) that countermeasures can be initiated against the failing state under the law of state responsibility (the ILC Articles on State Responsibility). In concluding, the thesis will consider the various advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the aforementioned solutions, ultimately proposing an approach that is best-suited to upholding the interest of the victorious party at the enforcement stage.

Magister Legum - LLM / The global state of the environment is deteriorating daily because of challenges posed by environmental degradation, including climate change. In recognition of the mounting global environmental crisis and its detrimental impact on the enjoyment of human rights, there is a growing call for the recognition of what is generally referred to as a human right to a clean environment, otherwise referred to in this study as an international environmental right. Proponents of an international environmental right hold a firm view that such a right will prevent or mitigate actions that are responsible for environmental degradation and thus contribute to environmental protection. This study seeks to determine the nature of the relationship between the environment and human rights and whether the proposal for the recognition of an international environmental right to address global environmental concerns that pose a threat to the enjoyment of human rights has merit. In determining the viability of recognising an international environmental right, a number of theories underpinning the recognition of new international human rights, the status of the right in existing international human rights agreements, political willingness and support of states, the notion of global constitutionalism, customary international law sources such as soft law instruments, international declarations etc., are considered.

This ethnographic dissertation examines contemporary perceptions of higher education within the context of a Tribal government. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how Tribal community members perceive higher education as related to Tribal self-determination. This project was partially modeled around two specific research questions relating to Brayboy’s (2012) model of self-determination. Specific research questions for this dissertation included: (1) What are the perceptions of education in a Tribal community as they relate to sovereignty, nation building, and self-determination? (2) Are there differences among perceptions of education between groups (e.g., traditionalists v. credentialists)? In addition to addressing the specific research questions, this project also included a modified grounded theory to foster emergent theme development. Emergent theme development was intended to account for narratives beyond specific research questions. Participants were presented the following questions in one-on-one, open-ended interviews organized around the following questions: (1) How is formal education important for Tribal members? (2) How is formal education important to Tribal community development? (3) What formal educational credentials are most important to the operations of the Tribe? (4) What do you think formal educational credentials represent? (5) What tensions exist between a formal education v. cultural knowledge? (6) What do you think should be the ideal process of Tribal higher education? (7) How well do you think the current educational policies and practices of the Tribe complement self-determination? (8) What are the goals of a self-determination education? Results for this project were mixed. Narratives indicated a relative absence of conceptual constructs associated with Brayboy’s model of self-determination. Additionally, narratives also did not indicate a robust example of group dynamic. Results appeared to indicate an underlying presence of epistemological standpoints to frame Tribal higher education in terms of: (1) Formal Credentials; (2) Practical Experience; and (3) Cultural Experience. Finally, emergent theme development established how educational credentials are promoted, valued, and employed within the Tribal government setting. Narratives produced an extremely nuanced and dynamic landscape of perceptions, groups, utilities, tensions, obstacles, and reforms within Tribes. Narratives also indicated the presence of educational credentialism affecting self-determination in Tribal communities.

This project studies the paradoxical juxtaposition of the modern nation-state's guarantee of life and security to its citizenry, along with the spectacular (encounter killings, torture chambers and cells) and banal (border control practices, population policies) forms through which it exercises the power over life and death in the sphere of everyday life in particular borderland areas. I argue that a study of exceptional locales like India's eastern borderlands elaborates the paradox of state sovereignty in two ways: first, it illustrates that so-called "margins," like colonies and borderlands, are necessary for the institution of modern state sovereignty, and second, it enables a critical scrutiny of the function of forms of violence as essential tools of modern governmentality. India's eastern borderlands are a crucial locale for such an inquiry because they lie at the crossroads of the three area-studies formations of South, Southeast and East Asia. The institutionalization of the official borders of the nation-states that rim this region--India, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan--are comparatively recent historical developments. Specters of pre-nation-statist spatial connections still survive in the region, and often come into conflict with modern state technologies such as citizenship laws and statutes regulating cross-border socioeconomic contacts among people. The central focus of my project is on post-1980 Anglophone and local language literary fictions by Amitav Ghosh, Siddhartha Deb, Parag Das and Raktim Xarma. These fictions demonstrate how the eastern borderlands are figured in popular Indian discourse as a "state of nature" that occupy a position of being both inside the rationalized territorial body of the nation-state and outside the regime of normalized law and order. Focusing on figures as diverse as bureaucrats, army officials, journalists, guerrillas and refugees (among others), they show how socio-historical changes over a longue durée, and the practices and policies employed by the state apparatus, coalesce to produce new modalities of subjectivity and politics in these zones of exception in the Indian nation-state.