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The Afghan Legacy, by Olivier Roy
The Afghan State, Consolidated by its role as a buffer State during the nineteenth century Anglo-Russian rivalry, must today redefine itself within the new strategie context. Existing borders tend to be blurred as Afghanistan and the region as a whole are increasingly divided along ethnie Unes. The Russian retreat from Central Asia seems to be permanent, and the new strategie deployment is focused upon Caspian supplies of hydrocarbons, for which Afghanistan offers apotential transit, at least whilst the American embargo against Iran lasts. Pakistan is thus endeavouring to establish a protectorate over Afghanistan in order to fill the void left by the Russian retreat. However, a remaining sense of Afghan identity may create anti-Pakistani feelings, whilst the end of the American embargo against Iran would rob Afghanistan of all strategie interest.

The Albanian Question, by Hans Stark
In the South of the Balkan Peninsula where it has long served as a buffer state between powers, Albania, the only European country with a Muslim majority, plays a central role in a dominantly Othodox and hostile environment. Albania's borders were drawn up (in the 1913 Treaty of London) according to geopolitical rather than ethnie criteria. With Albanians spread out over five states it seems unlikely that the simple désire of Ramiz Alia's government for integration will be sufficient to curb Albanese irredentism. Whilst the thorny question of Kosovo, Northern Epirus and minorities remain unanswered Albania's relations with its neighbours, especially Greece and Serbia, cannot be 'normalized'. In addition to being the poorest country in Europe, Albania has the highest birth rate in the Balkans and will, until these problems are solved, constitute an important factor of instability for the whole region.

This thesis aims to reflect on the different functions between the upper border of Germany and that of Germany, with particular emphasis on its military dimension and its place in the Empire defense strategy. The study of the limes is particularly interesting from the Severi to Diocletian, because this is a period when it has many changes and adjustments to its abandonment and the return on the 'ripa' the Rhine. After defining the limes and its function, we will see that trading is limited between the Roman and Germanic world and that effective against low-intensity raids. Its abandonment is explained both by civil wars and by changes in the Germanic world. After the rediscovered unity of the Empire, the emperors created a new line of defense on the Rhine which is complemented by the creation of a buffer state, the Alamannia. ; Cette thèse a pour objet de mener une réflexion sur les différentes fonctions entre la frontière de Germanie supérieure et celle de Germanie, en insistant plus particulièrement sur sa dimension militaire et sa place dans la stratégie de défense de l'Empire. L'étude de ce limes est particulièrement intéressante des Sévères à Dioclétien, car c'est une période où il connaît de nombreuses transformations et adaptations jusqu'à son abandon et le retour sur la 'ripa ' du Rhin. Après avoir défini le limes et ses fonctions, nous verrons que les échanges y sont limités entre le monde romain et germanique et qu'il est efficace pour lutter contre les raids de faible intensité. Son abandon s'explique à la fois par les guerres civiles et par les mutations dans le monde germanique. Après l'unité retrouvée de l'Empire, les empereurs créent une nouvelle ligne de défense sur le Rhin qui est complétée par la création d'un Etat-tampon, l'Alamannia.

In the Southeast Asian area modalities of political dependence have developed which involve the distinctive typology of clients, silent partners, and proxies. These modalities govern the relationship between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Laos, and the People's Republic of Kampuchea. They also are operative in the international interaction between the members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (Asean) and the Western major powers. A set of strategic cooperative arrangements, as well as direct military assistance between Asean, the Commonwealth and the U.S., has its counterpart in similar relations between the U.S.S.R. and the Hanoi dominated lndo-China alliance. As a result, the U.S.-Soviet confrontation in Southeast Asia is expressed politically and strategically primarily through the proxy relationships with the lndo-China states and key Asean members respectively. In turn, there are strong undercurrents in Asean seeking an accommodation with Hanoi, in order to minimize the conflict potential in the region generated by opposing U.S. and Soviet strategic interests. Particularly the relatively warming relationship between the U.S. and People's China has strengthened the Asean fears of China s long-term intentions in the region. An independent Vietnam, free from its proxy-client status toward the Soviet Union, could act as a buffer between China and the Southeast Asian region. Since Hanoi, if only for long-standing nationalistic reasons, wishes to be free from its currently necessary dependence on Moscow, Asean's accommodationist interests may well meet with appreciation in Hanoi in the future. This would tend to lessen the effect of the American-Soviet confrontation in the area.

During the 17th century, relations between the Duchy of Savoy-Piedmont and the Kingdom of France were particularly tense. Due to its uncomfortable geographic position - buffer zone between the two sides of the Alps and torn between the Kingdoms of France and Spain - the small Italian state risked disappearing in front of the powerful armies of the two monarchies. This thesis, divided in three sections of three chapters each, focuses on a pivotal period of the Savoyard state, specifically from 1630 to 1648.These years are characterised by two reigns: first, the reign of the son of Charles Emmanuel I, Victor Amadeus I, whose government was defined by the painful loss of Pinerolo, by the flamboyant acquisition of the title of King of Cyprus, and by the brilliant military campaigns of 1636 and 1637; second, due to the young age of Charles Emmanuel II, the regency firmly held by Duchess Christine, daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.After the short-lived and underestimated reign of Victor Amadeus I, an uncertain and precarious period started under the regency of Christine of Bourbon who was able to gradually emancipate herself from Richelieu's desire for domination.After the turmoil of the civil war and the tumultuous encounter with her brother Louis XIII and the powerful Red Eminence in Grenoble (1639), the Duchess of Savoy succeeded in reinvigorating the unsteady fate of the Duchy of Savoy thanks to bold and dexterous politics.Through its omnipresent and highly organised diplomacy, the Savoyard state was able to hold on to its ambitions of kingship, which would differentiate the Duchy from the other Italian principalities.After the tense years of the 1630s and part of the 1640s, which kept being affected by clashes with the French ambassadors, such as Particelli d'Emery and d'Aiguebonne, and by crisis between the governments of Paris and Turin (like the mentioned encounter of Grenoble, or the dispute over the jurisconsult Bellezia during the Peace of Westphalia, which determined the breakage of the ...

The research presented in this thesis deals with the study of the contemporary Iberian nationalism which has influenced the territorial and national questions of Spain. Aragon, despite being a crossroad territory between France, Catalonia, Valencia, Castile and the Basque-Navarrese region, is often missing from this discussion. From a geopolitical point of view, Aragon appears to be like a "buffer" territory between central Spain and its borders. Moreover, due to these characteristics, Aragon has no two-party system PSOE/PP as is the case in Spain's interior regions, but it also doesn't have the hegemonic role of a NSWP (Non State-wide Parties), which defends a non-Spanish nationalism. What we do find in Aragon are two NSWPs with which the two big Spanish SWPs (State-wide Parties) have to form an alliance with, in order to govern in the big cities and at the Autonomous Parliament. The main focus of this thesis is on the Chunta Aragonesista (CHA), the Aragonese left-wing political Party which was created in 1986. Its political tradition, its ideology, its position in comparison to other NSWPs will be studied along with the circumstances that have made it possible for them to obtain a deputy at the Spanish Parliament in 2000 and to become the third major political force of Aragon from 2003 to 2007. Then, the possible causes of the Chunta Aragonesista's electoral failure since 2007 will be analyzed. Finally, this paper will examine the role that Aragon (and the Chunta Aragonesista) could play by putting forward a new configuration of the Spanish state on the basis of a federal republic. ; Les recherches qui ont abouti à cette thèse de doctorat s'inscrivent dans la thématique des nationalismes ibériques contemporains qui ont animé (et animent toujours) les questions territoriales et nationales de l'Espagne. L'Aragon, souvent absent de ce débat, est pourtant un territoire charnière entre la France, la Catalogne, le Pays valencien, la Castille et le bloc basco-navarrais. D'un point de vue géopolitique, l'Aragon ...

This paper analyzes the internationalization of environmental protection on five major wetlands of Albania. By geography and location of biological corridors, these areas are hot spot of biodiversity. Three of them are listed on the Ramsar convention. Large coastal plains of Albania were once very swampy, favorable to the development of biodiversity, especially as they were sparsely populated, because the Albanian people living in the mountains. The Communists came to power led to a shift in values, extolling the virtues of these coastal plains neglected. Their drying and cultivation led to the disappearance of buffer spaces and changes of physico-chemical equilibria of water from wetlands, including the salinity of the water. The introduction of species for fishing, agricultural and industrial pollution, clogging of channels by the influx of sediments related to the exposure of the soil, were all consequences of agricultural practices during communism. The openenig of Albania in 1991 caused the multiplication of actors on Wetlands, and the formation of unique geographic systems born of these games players. Agricultural pressures are declining, but local actors exploit wild resources sometimes without control. Global players play on both the attractiveness of Albania as a country with low rates of labor and strategic location on energy paths. International institutions to push the creation of protected wetlands to the appropriate biodiversity issues and gather broken segments of biological corridors, areas that the state encourages as many ways to advance his pawns on the diplomatic chessboard. These strategies built on a nested territory form a particular geography that we map in the last part. They determine the axes, areas and points of national or local comprehensive, and strategic value political, economic or environmental. [etc.] ; Ce travail analyse l'internationalisation de la protection environnementale sur cinq zones humides majeures d'Albanie. De par leur géographie et leur situation sur des corridors ...

This paper analyzes the internationalization of environmental protection on five major wetlands of Albania. By geography and location of biological corridors, these areas are hot spot of biodiversity. Three of them are listed on the Ramsar convention. Large coastal plains of Albania were once very swampy, favorable to the development of biodiversity, especially as they were sparsely populated, because the Albanian people living in the mountains. The Communists came to power led to a shift in values, extolling the virtues of these coastal plains neglected. Their drying and cultivation led to the disappearance of buffer spaces and changes of physico-chemical equilibria of water from wetlands, including the salinity of the water. The introduction of species for fishing, agricultural and industrial pollution, clogging of channels by the influx of sediments related to the exposure of the soil, were all consequences of agricultural practices during communism. The openenig of Albania in 1991 caused the multiplication of actors on Wetlands, and the formation of unique geographic systems born of these games players. Agricultural pressures are declining, but local actors exploit wild resources sometimes without control. Global players play on both the attractiveness of Albania as a country with low rates of labor and strategic location on energy paths. International institutions to push the creation of protected wetlands to the appropriate biodiversity issues and gather broken segments of biological corridors, areas that the state encourages as many ways to advance his pawns on the diplomatic chessboard. These strategies built on a nested territory form a particular geography that we map in the last part. They determine the axes, areas and points of national or local comprehensive, and strategic value political, economic or environmental. [etc.] ; Ce travail analyse l'internationalisation de la protection environnementale sur cinq zones humides majeures d'Albanie. De par leur géographie et leur situation sur des corridors ...

This paper analyzes the internationalization of environmental protection on five major wetlands of Albania. By geography and location of biological corridors, these areas are hot spot of biodiversity. Three of them are listed on the Ramsar convention. Large coastal plains of Albania were once very swampy, favorable to the development of biodiversity, especially as they were sparsely populated, because the Albanian people living in the mountains. The Communists came to power led to a shift in values, extolling the virtues of these coastal plains neglected. Their drying and cultivation led to the disappearance of buffer spaces and changes of physico-chemical equilibria of water from wetlands, including the salinity of the water. The introduction of species for fishing, agricultural and industrial pollution, clogging of channels by the influx of sediments related to the exposure of the soil, were all consequences of agricultural practices during communism. The openenig of Albania in 1991 caused the multiplication of actors on Wetlands, and the formation of unique geographic systems born of these games players. Agricultural pressures are declining, but local actors exploit wild resources sometimes without control. Global players play on both the attractiveness of Albania as a country with low rates of labor and strategic location on energy paths. International institutions to push the creation of protected wetlands to the appropriate biodiversity issues and gather broken segments of biological corridors, areas that the state encourages as many ways to advance his pawns on the diplomatic chessboard. These strategies built on a nested territory form a particular geography that we map in the last part. They determine the axes, areas and points of national or local comprehensive, and strategic value political, economic or environmental. [etc.] ; Ce travail analyse l'internationalisation de la protection environnementale sur cinq zones humides majeures d'Albanie. De par leur géographie et leur situation sur des corridors ...

Based on an analysis of the Pokot situation, this study aims to define the models used to integrate the populations in the north-west of Kenya in the nation state and examine how these models are appropriated by the local society. Designed as a buffer zone between the semi-arid no man's land in the north and the high, fertile plateaux in the south, the West Pokot District is today an incontestable territorial referent that is the object of political claims and border conflicts. Yet, the organisation of the cattle and grain commodity chains generates differentiated evolution processes in the plains and mountain areas. Farmers elaborate territorial re-composition and strengthening strategies, with no consideration of complementarity exchanges and relations of proximity between the high and low areas of the Rift. Thus, a vision of two distinct production territories between which new conflicts emerge is therefore imposing itself over the vision of a single homogenous ethnic territory. ; S'appuyant sur une analyse de la situation des Pokot, cette étude vise à définir les modèles employés pour intégrer les populations du nord-ouest kenyan à l'Etat-nation et à examiner sous quelle forme ces modèles sont appropriés par la société locale. Conçu comme une zone tampon entre les no man's land semi-arides du nord et les hauts plateaux fertiles du sud, le district de West-pokot est aujourd'hui un référent territorial indiscutable, objet de revendications politiques et de conflits sur ses bordures. Pourtant, l'organisation des filières bétail et céréales génère un processus d'évolution différenciée entre les espaces de la plaine et de la montagne. Les producteurs élaborent des stratégies de recomposition et de renforcement territorial, en dehors de toutes considérations des échanges de complémentarité et des relations de proximité entre le haut et le bas de l'escarpement du Rift. A la vision d'un seul territoire ethnique homogène s'impose donc plutôt celle de deux territoires de productions distincts entre lesquels naissent ...

Based on an analysis of the Pokot situation, this study aims to define the models used to integrate the populations in the North-West of Kenya in the nation state and examine how these models are appropriated by the local society. Designed as a buffer zone between the semi-arid no mans's land in the North and the high, fertile plateau in the South, the West Pokot District is today an Incontestable territorial referent that is the object of political claims and the border conflicts. Yet, the organisation of the cattle and grain commodity chains generates differentiated evolution processes in the plains and mountain areas. Farmers elaborate territorial re-composition and strengthening strategies, with no consideration of complementarity exchanges and relations of proximity between the high and low areas of the Rift. Thus, a vision of two distinct production territories between which new conflicts emerge is therefore imposing itself over the vision of a asingle homogenous ethic territory ; S'appuyant sur une analyse de ls situation des Pokot, cette etude vise a definir les modeles employes pour integrer les populations du nord-ouest kenyan a l'Etate-nation et a examiner sous quelle forme ces modeles sont appropries par la societe locale. Concu comme une zone tampon entre les no man's land semi-arides du nord et les hauts plateaux fertiles du sud, le district de West-Pokot est aujourd'hui un referent teritorial indiscutable, objet de revendications politiques et de conflicts sur ses bordures. Poutant, l;organisation des filieres betail et cereales genere unprocessus d'evolution differenciee entre les espaces de la plaine et de la montagne. Les producteurs elaborent des strategies de recomposition et de reforcement teritorial, en dehors de toutes considerations des echanges de complemtarite et des relations de proximite entre l haut et le bas de l'escarpement du Rift. A la vision d'un seul territoire ethnique homogen s'impos donc plutot celle de deux territoires de productions distinct entre lesqueles naissent de ...

Based on an analysis of the Pokot situation, this study aims to define the models used to integrate the populations in the north-west of Kenya in the nation state and examine how these models are appropriated by the local society. Designed as a buffer zone between the semi-arid no man's land in the north and the high, fertile plateaux in the south, the West Pokot District is today an incontestable territorial referent that is the object of political claims and border conflicts. Yet, the organisation of the cattle and grain commodity chains generates differentiated evolution processes in the plains and mountain areas. Farmers elaborate territorial re-composition and strengthening strategies, with no consideration of complementarity exchanges and relations of proximity between the high and low areas of the Rift. Thus, a vision of two distinct production territories between which new conflicts emerge is therefore imposing itself over the vision of a single homogenous ethnic territory. ; S'appuyant sur une analyse de la situation des Pokot, cette étude vise à définir les modèles employés pour intégrer les populations du nord-ouest kenyan à l'Etat-nation et à examiner sous quelle forme ces modèles sont appropriés par la société locale. Conçu comme une zone tampon entre les no man's land semi-arides du nord et les hauts plateaux fertiles du sud, le district de West-pokot est aujourd'hui un référent territorial indiscutable, objet de revendications politiques et de conflits sur ses bordures. Pourtant, l'organisation des filières bétail et céréales génère un processus d'évolution différenciée entre les espaces de la plaine et de la montagne. Les producteurs élaborent des stratégies de recomposition et de renforcement territorial, en dehors de toutes considérations des échanges de complémentarité et des relations de proximité entre le haut et le bas de l'escarpement du Rift. A la vision d'un seul territoire ethnique homogène s'impose donc plutôt celle de deux territoires de productions distincts entre lesquels naissent ...

The research presented in this thesis deals with the study of the contemporary Iberian nationalism which has influenced the territorial and national questions of Spain. Aragon, despite being a crossroad territory between France, Catalonia, Valencia, Castile and the Basque-Navarrese region, is often missing from this discussion. From a geopolitical point of view, Aragon appears to be like a "buffer" territory between central Spain and its borders. Moreover, due to these characteristics, Aragon has no two-party system PSOE/PP as is the case in Spain's interior regions, but it also doesn't have the hegemonic role of a NSWP (Non State-wide Parties), which defends a non-Spanish nationalism. What we do find in Aragon are two NSWPs with which the two big Spanish SWPs (State-wide Parties) have to form an alliance with, in order to govern in the big cities and at the Autonomous Parliament. The main focus of this thesis is on the Chunta Aragonesista (CHA), the Aragonese left-wing political Party which was created in 1986. Its political tradition, its ideology, its position in comparison to other NSWPs will be studied along with the circumstances that have made it possible for them to obtain a deputy at the Spanish Parliament in 2000 and to become the third major political force of Aragon from 2003 to 2007. Then, the possible causes of the Chunta Aragonesista's electoral failure since 2007 will be analyzed. Finally, this paper will examine the role that Aragon (and the Chunta Aragonesista) could play by putting forward a new configuration of the Spanish state on the basis of a federal republic. ; Les recherches qui ont abouti à cette thèse de doctorat s'inscrivent dans la thématique des nationalismes ibériques contemporains qui ont animé (et animent toujours) les questions territoriales et nationales de l'Espagne. L'Aragon, souvent absent de ce débat, est pourtant un territoire charnière entre la France, la Catalogne, le Pays valencien, la Castille et le bloc basco-navarrais. D'un point de vue géopolitique, l'Aragon apparaît donc en territoire « tampon » entre l'Espagne centrale (exclusivement castillane, hispanophone et nationalement espagnole) et l'Espagne périphérique (bilingue et dont la conscience nationale est plus complexe). Du fait de ces spécificités, l'Aragon ne connaît pas le bipartisme PSOE/PP propre aux régions de l'intérieur de l'Espagne. Pour gouverner l'Aragon et ses communes, ces deux partis espagnols doivent s'allier à des forces aragonaises (une de centre-droit et une de centre-gauche). Chunta Aragonesista (CHA), créée en 1986 est ce parti aragonésiste de gauche ; il se dit « nationaliste ». Le « nationalisme aragonais » de CHA trouve sa légitimité dans l'existence d'une « nation aragonaise » justifiée par l'Histoire médiévale du Royaume d'Aragon et ses institutions politiques et juridiques. CHA défend ainsi « l'autodétermination de la nation aragonaise » au sein d'un État espagnol fédéral. Son membre le plus célèbre, a sans doute été José Antonio Labordeta, disparu en septembre 2010, qui a été député au Congreso de los Diputados de Madrid pendant deux législatures (2000-2004 et 2004-2008).