Suchergebnisse

Spätestens seit Ende der 1990er Jahre erreichten Liberalisierungsbestrebungen und kommunale Entschuldungsüberlegungen auch die kommunale Wohnungswirtschaft. Um ihre Handlungsfähigkeit abzusichern, Schulden zu senken und Haushalte zu sanieren, wurden deshalb durch kommunale Anteilseigner teilweise komplette Wohnungsunternehmen an institutionelle Investoren veräußert. In Zeiten der Marktentspannung schien das teils mit hohem Modernisierungs- und Umbaubedarf versehene Wohneigentum, die Chance auf einen kommunalen Schuldenabbau sowie auf professionellere wohnungswirtschaftliche Strategien für den kommunalen Wohnungsmarkt zu eröffnen. Die mit dem Verkauf an "neue Investoren" verbundenen Risiken stellten sich beim Erstverkauf als gering dar. Eine kommunale Einflussnahme auf Stadt- und Quartiersentwicklung sowie soziale Wohnraumversorgung sicherten teils zeitlich begrenzt Verträge ab. Spätestens mit dem Zweitverkauf des einst kommunalen Wohnungsunternehmens wurde klar, dass sich wohnungswirtschaftliche Schwerpunktsetzungen durch die stark renditeorientierten Erwerber wandelten. Kommunen sahen sich nun einer wachsenden und in ihren Verwertungsinteressen zunehmend differenzierten Akteurvielfalt gegenüber. Die Dissertation erforscht deshalb das Handeln und die Kommunikation zwischen wohnungswirtschaftlichen Akteuren und der Kommune nach dem Komplettverkauf kommunalen Wohneigentums. Am Beispiel der Städte Kiel, Osnabrück und Wilhelmshaven werden mögliche Auswirkungen des Markteintritts internationaler strategischer und Finanzinvestoren auf Prozesse der Stadtentwicklung, des Wohnungsmarktes sowie auf lokale Kooperationsprozesse untersucht. Diese Aspekte wurden bisher in der raumwissenschaftlichen Forschung nur in Ansätzen betrachtet. Diese Forschungslücke soll mit der vorliegenden Arbeit geschlossen werden. Mit Hilfe von handlungs- und governancetheoretischen Ansätzen der Wohnungsmarkt- und Stadtforschung werden auf der Basis von Experteninterviews, qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse, Dokumentenanalysen und sekundärstatistischen Auswertungen Veränderungen zwischen 1999 und 2009 systematisch analysiert und interpretiert. Im Rahmen eines systematischen Vergleichs werden einerseits der Einsatz kommunaler Instrumente zum Erreichen von stadtentwicklungs- und wohnungspolitischen Zielsetzungen, andererseits neue kommunale Handlungserfordernisse und Handlungsansätze sowie Verhandlungspositionen im Zusammenhang mit dem Markteintritt neuer Investoren untersucht. Ziel ist es, die Auswirkungen des Markteintritts '"neuer Akteure" auf Prozesse der Stadtentwicklung, des Wohnungsmarktes sowie für die Absicherung kommunaler Kernaufgaben herauszuarbeiten. Es zeigt sich, dass nicht zu allererst der Markteintritt "neuer Investoren", sondern die Auswirkungen des Strukturwandels das strategische – kollektive wie kompetitive – Agieren der Akteure intensiv beeinflusst haben. In allen Kommunen wurde das Entschuldungsziel verfehlt. Die Abhängigkeit der Kommune vom Kooperationswillen privatwirtschaftlicher Akteure steigt. Ein kommunales Durchsetzen integrativer Ansätze der Stadtentwicklung sowie wohnungspolitische Gestaltungsansätze auf Bestandswohnungsmärkten werden schwieriger. Eine unmittelbare Neuorientierung des kommunalen sowie des wohnungswirtschaftlichen Handelns durch den Markteintritt "neuer Investoren" war jedoch nicht nachweisbar. Die langfristigen Folgen der einzelnen Verkaufsentscheidungen deuten sich bereits heute in den untersuchten Städten an. Dies betrifft die Wohnsituationen und Wohnraumversorgung einkommensschwächerer Haushalte genauso wie Belange einer nachhaltigen Stadt- und Quartiersentwicklung. Dabei ist es zweitrangig, ob sich Entwicklungsprozesse auf schrumpfenden, stagnierenden oder wachsenden Märkten ereignen. Das jahrzehntelang unausgesprochene lokale Bestandsinteresse wohnungswirtschaftlicher Akteure mit tendenziell langfristiger Verantwortungsbindung ist professionellen Verwertungsinteressen gewichen. Kommunale Interventionsstrategien sind für diese, teils massiv auftretenden, neuen Situationen und Konflikte nicht vorhanden. ; Communication and actions of local actors on the housing market following complete disposal of municipal housing stocks Since the end of the 1990s at the latest, efforts at liberalisation and municipal debt reduction considerations also began to affect the housing market. As a consequence, in order to secure their freedom of action, reduce debt and balance budgets municipal shareholders in some cases sold entire housing companies to institutional investors. In times of easing of the market the housing stock, some of which required significant modernisation and conversion investment, appeared to offer an opportunity for municipal debt reduction and more professional housing strategies for the municipal housing market. The risks associated with sale to "new investors" appeared slight for the initial sale. Municipal influence on the development of urban districts and the supply of social housing was secured via contracts, some of which were for limited periods. At the latest with the second disposal of the formerly municipal housing company it became evident that the focal points of housing considerations were shifting as a consequence of the strongly profit-oriented purchasers. Municipalities now saw themselves faced with a growing range of actors, differentiating increasingly with regard to their financial interests. The dissertation subsequently investigates the actions and communication between housing industry actors and the municipalities following the complete sale of municipal housing stock. Using the example of the cities of Kiel, Osnabrück and Wilhelmshaven possible effects of the market entry of international strategic and financial investors on processes of urban development, the housing market and local co-operation processes are investigated. These aspects have only been partially considered thus far in the field of spatial research. This dissertation aims to close this research gap. With the aid of action and governance theory approaches of housing market and urban research the changes that occurred between 1999 and 2009 are systematically analysed and interpreted on the basis of interviews with experts, qualitative analysis of content, document analysis and the evaluation of secondary statistics. In the scope of a systematic comparison on the one side the use of municipal instruments to achieve urban development and housing policy objectives was investigated, on the other new municipal action requirements and approaches, together with negotiating positions in relation to the market entry of new investors. The objective is to determine the effects of the market entry of 'new actors' on urban development processes, the housing market and the securing of core municipal tasks. It is apparent that it is not primarily the market entry of "new investors" that has had the most intensive influence on the strategic - collective and competitive - actions of the actors, but the effects of structural transition. The goal of debt clearance failed to be met in all of the municipalities. The dependence of the municipalities upon the willingness of private sector actors to co-operate is increasing. The municipal implementation of integrative approaches to urban development and housing policy angles on existing housing markets is becoming increasingly difficult. A direct realignment of the municipal and housing policy activity as a result of the market entry of "new investors" was not discernible, however. The long-term consequences of the individual sale decisions are already becoming evident in the cities investigated. This concerns the housing situation and supply of housing to lower-income households as well as issues such as the sustainable development of cities and districts. In this it is of secondary importance whether the development processes occur in shrinking, stagnating or growing markets. The unspoken, decades-long interest of housing policy actors in local stock with longer-term responsibility has given way to professional asset maximisation interests. Municipal intervention strategies do not exist for these new situations and conflicts, some of which are highly significant in their extent.

Peacebuilding policies and practices represent strong attempts by external actors to exercise power in postconflict settings. Yet the extensive theoretical treatments of power in International Relations remain somewhat disconnected from empirical analyses of peacebuilding, and how external actors exercise power is under-conceptualised in the literature. Likewise, the literature on forms of resistance by local actors is seldom examined as an exercise of power in itself, and as part of a multidimensional relationship of power/resistance between external and local actors. This article thus theorises the different dimensions of power/resistance, with a detailed focus on an exemplary case - international efforts at peacebuilding in Burundi - that spans more than twenty years. It deploys a tripartite conception of both to analyse the ways in which different forms of power and resistance can be uncovered in peacebuilding practices, We demonstrate this via an analysis of postconflict peacebuilding in Burundi, and in particular the longer-term efforts of local actors to overtly and covertly bend and fuse peacebuilding practices to their own ends. ; publishedVersion ; Peer reviewed

Given the vast amount of policy discourse claiming that participation of local communities is a condition for sustainable forest management, this research aims at understanding how local actors actually perceive - and interact with - their communally owned forests. Without predetermining whether there will be participation at local levels or predefining what participation should be like at this level, we have selected six communes in the French and Swiss Alps. The selection criteria were that they have a substantial part of their territory covered with communally owned mountain forests and that they tend to have multiple forest-related uses. Besides country and region based institutional variation of the region selected (between the French Haute-Savoie and the Swiss cantons of Valais and Vaud), we chose communes with varying socio-economic and land-use contexts, as well as according to demographic trends and the relative importance of the primary (farming and forestry), secondary or tertiary sectors (mostly tourism). Based on sixty-five semi-structured interviews, we first analyze local actors' perceptions of the communal forests so as to crystallize different forest values and forest related conflicts. We estimate the relative importance of these values and conflicts, comparing results between the communes, and between categories of actors, based on their occupation, their age and their gender. Describing twenty collective agency processes, we develop a typology based on who takes part, why and how. Then we compare these processes in their capacity to either reproduce or change social structures and their relative dependency or autonomy from state authorities. After exploring the background of the concept of "participation" in democratic theory and in natural resources and forest policy making, we focus on micro-level social interactions and collective agency in communal forests. While taking a Grounded Theory approach for generating propositions based on a systematic qualitative interview analysis, we use insights from Anthony Giddens' structuration theory, as well as from Michel Crozier's strategic analytical methodology. We complement these with additional social theory concepts needed to address the cultural and ecological aspects of local social interactions with forests. Interpreting our results, we find that local social interactions and collective agency processes in relation with communal forests are correlated with various local actors' values and with many of their expressed multiple land-use conflicts, but that they generally do not address forestry related conflicts. We notice important variations in perceived conflicts, values, and in the involvement of the actors according to their occupation, gender, age, and relationship with authorities. These findings provide insights about the power relations structuring local interaction systems. The grounded analysis of these variations leads us to distinguish an important cultural, economic, and political conflict line between urban and rural representations of the communal forest (livelihood versus quality of life), as well as between urban and rural strategies in local forest-related agency (local autonomy versus state control). Our research finds a strong relationship between the historical consolidation of state-led forestry institutions and concomitant erosion of common property institutions, and the impact of modernization on the place-making capacity of local actors interacting with their forest. The result of this research is a set of propositions regarding local agency in communal forests and local actors' engagement in forestry, in the Swiss and French alpine region. These findings provide a better understanding of the local dimensions of participation in forestry. ; Lokales Handeln in Gemeindewäldern der Französischen und Schweizer Alpen Ausgehend der großen Anzahl von Literatur, die behauptet, dass die Partizipation von lokalen Gemeinschaften eine Bedingung für nachhaltiges Waldmanagement darstellt, versucht diese Studie zu verstehen, wie lokale Akteure ihren Gemeindewald tatsächlich wahrnehmen und dafür tätig werden. Ohne Partizipation auf lokaler Ebene vorauszusetzen und ohne vorwegzunehmen wie eine solche Partizipation aussehen sollte, haben wir sechs Gemeinden der Schweizer und der Französischen Alpen ausgewählt. Auswahlkriterien waren dabei, dass ein erheblicher Teil des Gemeindeterritoriums aus gemeindeeigenem Bergwald besteht und dass dieser Wald auf vielfache Art und Weise genutzt wird. Die Gemeinden liegen in unterschiedlichen Ländern und Regionen (Haute-Savoie in Frankreich sowie die Kantone Waadt und Wallis in der Schweiz) und zeichnen sich durch unterschiedliche sozio-ökonomische, demographischen und Landnutzungscharakteristiken aus. Die theoretische Basis unserer Forschung baut auf sozialen Handlungstheorien auf. Partizipation wird als kollektives Handeln verstanden, wobei zwei oder mehr soziale Akteure zusammen im Hinblick auf ein gemeinsames Ziel handeln. In der theoretischen Auseinandersetzung mit der Problemstellung fragen wir zunächst nach dem Hintergrund des Konzepts der "Partizipation" in der Demokratietheorie und konzentrierten uns dann auf den Gebrauch dieses Konzepts in der Formulierung von politischen Inhalten, die sich auf das nachhaltige Resourcenmanagement und die Waldwirtschaft beziehen. Bei unserer Betrachtung der Bedeutung, die Partizipation für lokale Akteure in Bezug auf ihren Gemeindewald hat, konzentrieren wir uns auf Theorien, die Partizipation als ein soziales Interaktionsphänomen betrachten - insbesondere beziehen wir uns auf Anthony Giddens Strukturationstheorie, auf Michel Croziers strategisch-analytische Methodologie sowie auf Lewis Cosers soziale Konflikttheorie. Um eine induktive Analyse durchführen zu können, benutzen wir die so genannte "grounded theory" von Barney Glaser und Anselm Strauss. Mit Hilfe dieses theoretischen und methodologischen Rahmens wird eine systematische Analyse von 65 qualitativen Interviews durchgeführt, mit dem Ziel, induktiv Thesen zu generieren (anstatt Hypothesen zu testen). Die offene qualitative Interviewmethode erlaubt es uns, zu verstehen, was die lokalen Akteure über ihren Gemeindebergwald und seine Verwaltung zu sagen haben, aber auch, weshalb sie entsprechende Überlegungen tätigen. Zunächst wurden die Wahrnehmungen und Wertungen analysiert, die die lokalen Akteure bezogen auf ihren Kommunalwald haben. Unterschiedliche waldbezogene Konflikte und Waldwertschätzungen werden dargestellt und bezüglich ihrer Bedeutung für die verschiedenen lokalen Akteure eingeschätzt. Schließlich wurden 21 kollektive Handlungsprozesse in den sechs Gemeinden analysiert und in einer Typologie systematisiert, die auf den Zielen und den gemeinsamen Strategien, auf den Machtverhältnissen zwischen den Agenten und den Behörden sowie auf der Tendenz, soziale Strukturen zu verändern oder zu reproduzieren, aufbaut. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Akteure, die hauptberuflich im Wald tätig sind, mehr Konflikte äußern als diejenigen, die im tertiären und sekundären Sektor arbeiten. Frauen, Jugendliche und Menschen, die im tertiären und sekundären Sektor beschäftigt sind, äußern demgegenüber mehr Wertschätzungen des Waldes. Erbschaftsbezogene Werte ("patrimonial values") - die neben dem Eigentumswert, für die Interviewten, mit lokaler Holzarchitektur und - handwerk, mit über Generationen vermittelten lokalem Wissen, und mit kollektiver und persönlicher Identität zu tun haben, erscheinen besonders prägend für die lokale Bevölkerung zu sein. Diese Werte motivieren auch einen großen Teil der waldbezogenen Interaktionen. Die verstehende ("grounded") Analyse dieser Unterschiede deutet auf eine wichtige kulturelle, ökonomische und politische Konfliktlinie zwischen städtischen und ländlichen Wahrnehmungen der Gemeindewälder sowie zwischen städtischen und ländlichen Präferenzen und Strategien. Ländliche Interessen sind auf Lebenserhaltung, während städtische Interessen auf soziale Integration konzentriert sind. Die Ersteren suchen insbesondere, ihre Autonomie über die lokalen Waldressourcen zu bewahren. Die städtischen Akteure hingegen sehen den Wald als einen öffentlichen Raum, dessen Management sie fraglos an Forstexperten delegieren, solange sie freien Zugang zum Wald haben und der Wald relativ unverändert weiter besteht. Wir beobachten auch einen wichtigen Konflikt zwischen den Waldarbeitern und den Bauern, insbesondere bezüglich der Waldflächen, die über Weiden wachsen und bezüglich der Nutzung von Forst- und Landschaftsstraßen. Unter anderem schließen wir aus den empirischen Erhebungen, dass Partizipation im Management von Gemeindewald mit der internationalen Forstpolitik kaum im Einklang steht. In den Gemeinden, wo der Wald ein wichtiger Teil des Territoriums einnimmt und noch eine ökonomische Bedeutung hat, finden wir lokale waldbezogene Institutionen, deren Ziel es ist, eine gewisse Kontrolle über die Ressourcen der Gemeinde zu haben. Es scheint, dass die Gemeinden, in denen die meisten Waldwertschätzungen gefunden wurden, auch oft die sind, die recht viele Konflikte aufweisen und dass dies auch die Gemeinden mit den meisten kollektiven waldbezogenen Interaktionen sind. Es zeigt sich, dass Wertschätzung des Waldes und Konflikte Interaktionen fördern und dass solche Interaktionen auch wertbildend sind. Wir schließen unsere Arbeit mit Vorschlägen, die zum Ziel haben, das Engagement der lokalen Akteure für die Gemeindewälder und für die Waldwirtschaft zu stärken.

International development agencies continue to influence the development agenda of many developing countries. One of the latest development strategies being promoted by these bodies is local economic development (LED). The introduction of contemporary LED practice, where local stakeholders and authorities, in partnership with national planning agencies and international donors, jointly identify, design, and implement initiatives aimed at stimulating the local economy, is supposed to mark a paradigm shift from top-down approaches to bottom-up approaches of local development. Through this approach, development actors operating at the sub-national level are expected to mobilize local resources to implement LED initiatives, thus reducing reliance on central government and donor funds. This LED approach, in the estimation of international development agencies, eventually promotes subsidiarity and self-reliance at the district level. However, in Ghana, soon after the introduction of this presumably promising development strategy, it became clear that LED approaches are only partially adopted in local development planning and are hardly implemented, as they do not match the strategies and rationalities of key actors planning and implementing local development initiatives. While nationaland district-level planning agencies remain devoted to top-down development planning, local stakeholders are instead interested in infrastructure development and the direct transfer of funds, rather than participatory planning exercises meant to enhance local economic dynamics and competitiveness. This paper shows how LED as an externally introduced development strategy that does not fit well into the technical, social, economic, and political rationalities of local actors and as such is bound to fail, irrespective of its theoretical potential and the external support provided for its implementation. This paper explores the structural environment as well as multiple rationalities and interests that seem to impede the implementation of LED in Ghana.

Two years on from the Syrian regime's military recapture of the whole of Rural Damascus, the fates of influential local actors, including communal dignitaries, religious clerics, businessmen, civil society activists and military commanders, appear to vary from area to area depending on a range of factors. Based mostly on interviews with members of reconciliation committees and local councils, and civil and military actors involved in negotiation processes, this paper presents a comparative study of six areas in Rural Damascus – Zabadani, Douma, Yalda, Qudsaya, al-Tall and Moadhamiyat al-Sham – to explain both changes and continuity in the local social actors and their roles. The research reveals three broadly distinct categories. In areas that were subject to intense warfare ending in the forced displacement of most of the population backed up by powerful foreign intervention, local communities have undergone severe trauma, their social fabric has been torn apart and their most prominent social actors lost. In areas that witnessed only partial displacement and limited external intervention, Sufi clerics, who took the lead during reconciliation processes, maintained a presence afterwards, albeit with roles that steadily diminished over time. In areas that witnessed only partial displacement and limited external intervention but where strong social and family networks were of great significance, some local community figures were able to remain and maintain their roles in the post-reconciliation phase.

Actors play a crucial role in sustainable energy development yet interaction in different contexts is an area that has not received much scholarly attention. Sustainable energy transitions theories such as the Multi-Level Perspective, for instance, have been criticized for not describing precisely the nature of the interactions between actors and institutions within socio-technical systems. The goal of this study was to empirically examine local actors&rsquo ; engagement and its impact on the planning and implementation of sustainable energy initiatives in the villages and remote areas in Ghana. Using the mixed methodology approach, interviews were performed, focus discussion groups were held, and archival data were collected, and social network modeling and case study analysis was performed. Our findings showed that sustainable energy development at the local level depends on an interplay between local government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), central government agencies, local communities, and private sector organizations. Despite being the focal point at the local level, local government involvement in sustainable energy planning is limited. In the case of Ghana, sustainable energy planning remains centralized and is manifested in a low level of awareness of local actors on national energy plans. The implication for decision makers is that energy planning functions should be devolved to the local government. Such devolution is expected to ensure the integration of sustainable energies into local government plans for the well-coordinated implementation and effective monitoring of sustainable energy projects.

This essay covers issues of tourism and local development, a theoretical and historical framework that seeks to find common points of view between these two trends. Speaking of local development is to address issues of governance, competencies, participatory budgets and the possibility of carrying out works, just taking advantage of this panorama and in view that, the national government considers tourism activity like a part of the axes of improvement, it is necessary that tourism be considered a viable strategy. It must be understood that local development, goes far beyond an economic aspect, Amartya Sen, Indian philosopher, raises the development from a humanistic side, and deepens the well-being of the human being and the capacities to grow in an environment, so development is the freedom to access health, safety, education, leisure without limitations due to scarcity. Under an ancestral vision, the development is the harmony of the populations with the natural environment; it is the balance of the resources and the respect to the territory. From a tourism perspective, the sustained growth of tourism worldwide is analyzed, with 2017 being a year with a great upturn in visits, the 2020 goals have already been met, more than 1400 million transfers and the trend continues to increase, Although the tourist reality of Ecuador can generate ambiguity, from 2013 to the present, the average growth is 14%. However, this essay addresses a particular trend, rural community tourism.This type of tourism is developed in the countryside, between the communities and is precisely interconnected with local development in this space, since the unit of action is that, a municipal or parochial territory, exactly where the tourist resources are located and all those natural, cultural manifestations, and where the interaction of public, private and local actors is facilitated. ; El presente ensayo abarca temas de turismo y desarrollo local, un marco teórico e histórico que pretende encontrar puntos en común entre estas dos tendencias. Hablar de desarrollo local es tocar temas de gobernanza, competencias, presupuestos participativos y la posibilidad de ejecutar obras. Justamente, aprovechando este panorama, y en vista que para el gobierno nacional la actividad turística forma parte de los ejes de mejora, es preciso que el turismo sea considerado como una estrategia viable. Se debe entender que el desarrollo local va mucho más allá de un aspecto económico. Amartya Sen, filósofo indio, plantea el desarrollo desde un lado humanista, profundiza el bienestar del ser humano y las capacidades para crecer en un entorno, es decir, desarrollo es la libertad de acceder a salud, seguridad, educación, ocio, sin que existan limitaciones generadas por la escasez. Bajo una visión ancestral, el desarrollo es la armonía de las poblaciones con el entorno natural, es el equilibrio de los recursos y el respeto al territorio. Desde una visión turística se analiza el crecimiento sostenido del turismo a nivel mundial, siendo el 2017 un año con gran repunte de visitas, incluso se han cumplido ya las metas al 2020, más de 1400 millones de traslados y la tendencia sigue en aumento. Si bien la realidad turística de Ecuador puede generar ambigüedad, desde el 2013 hasta la actualidad la media de crecimiento es del 14%. En este ensayo se aborda una tendencia en particular, el turismo rural comunitario. Este tipo de turismo se desarrolla en el campo, entre las comunidades, y se interconecta con el desarrollo local en este espacio, pues la unidad de acción es esa, un territorio municipal o parroquial, justamente donde se encuentran los recursos turísticos y todas aquellas manifestaciones naturales, culturales, y donde se facilita la interacción de los actores públicos, privados y locales.

This article examines what happened in local government organizations when they faced the financial crisis of 2008/2009, exploring actors' perceptions of how the crisis affected local governments. It contributes to research into actions taken when organizations face financial crises, using a sensemaking approach, in accordance with the ideas of Karl Weick, as both a methodological tool and theoretical point of departure. The article concludes that, while the actors hesitated to call the 2008 financial situation a crisis, the situation did prompt organizational change. The crisis was described as an opportunity to be innovative and creative, but the described changes made tended to address old problems in old ways. The actors also pointed out that the crisis could still prompt change in local government organizations in the future.

In the context of globalization, the success of a firm to sell its products on international and regional markets depends on the type of governance exercised in a given sector. This article mobilizes a theoretical framework of global value chain governance to analyze the type of governance exercised in the tea sector in Burundi. A qualitative analysis of data from a survey of 120 small tea farmers in the Ijenda and Teza areas reveals that control and coordination in the sector is ensured by captive governance. In addition, a stagnation of the price of the green leaf tea over a decade generates a lack of interest in the tea farming out on small farming areas. Only 25% of small tea farmers in Ijenda and 36% in Teza want an extension. ; Peer reviewed

Thèse de géographie (mention géopolitique) ; In France, the role of local authorities in the organization of the electricity supply system is largely unknown mainly due to the syze of the state-owned utility electricité de france (edf). Local authorities and their groupings played a major role in the electrification of the national territory and have kept important prerogatives as conceding authorities of this service of general interest. These groupings also became the tools of the soft power of local actors. The geopolitical analysis of the relationships between local municipalities and electric power stakeholders shows the diversity of actors and opinions. Stuck between market liberalization issues and decentralization to local authorities, these groupings tend to reinforce their competencies. Furthermore, decentralization goes along with a reinforcement of the political involvement in local energy policy and with conflicts on the adequate territorial scale for theses policies. ; Le rôle des collectivités locales dans l'organisation du service public de l'électricité est un domaine méconnu de l'action publique locale en raison du poids symbolique d'edf. Pourtant, les communes et leurs regroupements syndicaux intercommunaux, qui ont joué un rôle historique dans l'électrification du territoire national, ont su conserver d'importantes prérogatives en tant qu'autorités concédantes de ce service public. Les syndicats départementaux d'électricité sont devenus des lieux et des outils d'un pouvoir local discret pour les élus qui en ont la charge. L'analyse géopolitique des relations entre les collectivités locales et l'électricité fait apparaître la diversité des acteurs et la force de leurs représentations. Prises dans le double mouvement de la libéralisation des marchés de l'énergie et de la décentralisation territoriale, les collectivités locales aspirent a renforcer leurs compétences. Par ailleurs, la décentralisation s'accompagne d'une montée en puissance des discours sur les politiques énergétiques locales et ...

Thèse de géographie (mention géopolitique) ; In France, the role of local authorities in the organization of the electricity supply system is largely unknown mainly due to the syze of the state-owned utility electricité de france (edf). Local authorities and their groupings played a major role in the electrification of the national territory and have kept important prerogatives as conceding authorities of this service of general interest. These groupings also became the tools of the soft power of local actors. The geopolitical analysis of the relationships between local municipalities and electric power stakeholders shows the diversity of actors and opinions. Stuck between market liberalization issues and decentralization to local authorities, these groupings tend to reinforce their competencies. Furthermore, decentralization goes along with a reinforcement of the political involvement in local energy policy and with conflicts on the adequate territorial scale for theses policies. ; Le rôle des collectivités locales dans l'organisation du service public de l'électricité est un domaine méconnu de l'action publique locale en raison du poids symbolique d'edf. Pourtant, les communes et leurs regroupements syndicaux intercommunaux, qui ont joué un rôle historique dans l'électrification du territoire national, ont su conserver d'importantes prérogatives en tant qu'autorités concédantes de ce service public. Les syndicats départementaux d'électricité sont devenus des lieux et des outils d'un pouvoir local discret pour les élus qui en ont la charge. L'analyse géopolitique des relations entre les collectivités locales et l'électricité fait apparaître la diversité des acteurs et la force de leurs représentations. Prises dans le double mouvement de la libéralisation des marchés de l'énergie et de la décentralisation territoriale, les collectivités locales aspirent a renforcer leurs compétences. Par ailleurs, la décentralisation s'accompagne d'une montée en puissance des discours sur les politiques énergétiques locales et ...

Thèse de géographie (mention géopolitique) ; In France, the role of local authorities in the organization of the electricity supply system is largely unknown mainly due to the syze of the state-owned utility electricité de france (edf). Local authorities and their groupings played a major role in the electrification of the national territory and have kept important prerogatives as conceding authorities of this service of general interest. These groupings also became the tools of the soft power of local actors. The geopolitical analysis of the relationships between local municipalities and electric power stakeholders shows the diversity of actors and opinions. Stuck between market liberalization issues and decentralization to local authorities, these groupings tend to reinforce their competencies. Furthermore, decentralization goes along with a reinforcement of the political involvement in local energy policy and with conflicts on the adequate territorial scale for theses policies. ; Le rôle des collectivités locales dans l'organisation du service public de l'électricité est un domaine méconnu de l'action publique locale en raison du poids symbolique d'edf. Pourtant, les communes et leurs regroupements syndicaux intercommunaux, qui ont joué un rôle historique dans l'électrification du territoire national, ont su conserver d'importantes prérogatives en tant qu'autorités concédantes de ce service public. Les syndicats départementaux d'électricité sont devenus des lieux et des outils d'un pouvoir local discret pour les élus qui en ont la charge. L'analyse géopolitique des relations entre les collectivités locales et l'électricité fait apparaître la diversité des acteurs et la force de leurs représentations. Prises dans le double mouvement de la libéralisation des marchés de l'énergie et de la décentralisation territoriale, les collectivités locales aspirent a renforcer leurs compétences. Par ailleurs, la décentralisation s'accompagne d'une montée en puissance des discours sur les politiques énergétiques locales et d'un conflit d'échelles et de territoires sur la " bonne " maille pour conduire ces politiques.

During the last decade, degrowth has developed into a central research theme within sustainability science. A significant proportion of previous works on degrowth has focused on macro-level units of analysis, such as global or national economies. Less is known about local interpretations of degrowth. This study explored interpretations of growth and degrowth in a local setting and attempts to integrate degrowth ideas into local policy. The work was carried out as a qualitative single-case study of the small town of Alingså ; s, Sweden. The results revealed two different, yet interrelated, local growth discourses in Alingså ; s: one relating to population growth and one relating to economic growth. Individuals participating in the degrowth discourse tend to have a sustainability-related profession and/or background in civil society. Arenas for local degrowth discussions are few and temporary and, despite some signs of influence, degrowth-related ideas have not had any significant overall impact on local policy and planning. In practice, degrowth-interested individuals tend to adjust their arguments to the mainstream sustainability discourse and turn to arenas beyond the formal municipal organization when discussing transformative ideas about development, progress, and quality of life. Based on these findings, the conditions for a further integration of degrowth into local policy and planning are discussed. Suggested themes for further research are institutional change and the role of local politicians.

During the last decade, degrowth has developed into a central research theme within sustainability science. A significant proportion of previous works on degrowth has focused on macro-level units of analysis, such as global or national economies. Less is known about local interpretations of degrowth. This study explored interpretations of growth and degrowth in a local setting and attempts to integrate degrowth ideas into local policy. The work was carried out as a qualitative single-case study of the small town of Alingsås, Sweden. The results revealed two different, yet interrelated, local growth discourses in Alingsås: one relating to population growth and one relating to economic growth. Individuals participating in the degrowth discourse tend to have a sustainability-related profession and/or background in civil society. Arenas for local degrowth discussions are few and temporary and, despite some signs of influence, degrowth-related ideas have not had any significant overall impact on local policy and planning. In practice, degrowth-interested individuals tend to adjust their arguments to the mainstream sustainability discourse and turn to arenas beyond the formal municipal organization when discussing transformative ideas about development, progress, and quality of life. Based on these findings, the conditions for a further integration of degrowth into local policy and planning are discussed. Suggested themes for further research are institutional change and the role of local politicians. ; QC 20180905 ; Bortom BNP-tillväxt: Scenarier för hållbart samhällsbyggande

During the last decade, degrowth has developed into a central research theme within sustainability science. A significant proportion of previous works on degrowth has focused on macro-level units of analysis, such as global or national economies. Less is known about local interpretations of degrowth. This study explored interpretations of growth and degrowth in a local setting and attempts to integrate degrowth ideas into local policy. The work was carried out as a qualitative single-case study of the small town of Alingsås, Sweden. The results revealed two different, yet interrelated, local growth discourses in Alingsås: one relating to population growth and one relating to economic growth. Individuals participating in the degrowth discourse tend to have a sustainability-related profession and/or background in civil society. Arenas for local degrowth discussions are few and temporary and, despite some signs of influence, degrowth-related ideas have not had any significant overall impact on local policy and planning. In practice, degrowth-interested individuals tend to adjust their arguments to the mainstream sustainability discourse and turn to arenas beyond the formal municipal organization when discussing transformative ideas about development, progress, and quality of life. Based on these findings, the conditions for a further integration of degrowth into local policy and planning are discussed. Suggested themes for further research are institutional change and the role of local politicians.