  Motivated by dualistic considerations of the reality of quark condensation in
quantum chromodynamics, and the connections of supergravity to the exotic
physics of string and M-theory, in this thesis we investigate the dynamical
breaking of local supersymmetry via gravitino condensation. We firstly
demonstrate non-perturbative gravitino mass generation via this mechanism in
flat spacetime, and from this derive the condensate mode wavefunction
renormalisation. By then calculating the full canonically normalised one-loop
effective potential for the condensate mode about a de Sitter background, we
demonstrate that, contrary to claims in the literature, this process may both
occur and function in a phenomenologically viable manner. In particular, we
find that outside of certain unfortunate gauge choices, the stability of the
condensate is intimately tied via gravitational degrees of freedom to the sign
of the tree-level cosmological constant. Furthermore, we find that the energy
density liberated may provide the necessary inflation of the early universe via
an effective scalar degree of freedom, provided by the condensate, acting as
the inflaton. However, in so doing we find that simultaneously
phenomenologically viable inflation and supersymmetry breaking via this
approach are mutually incompatible in the simplest supergravity settings. As
this mechanism takes place in the gravitational sector, relying on the
ubiquitous gravitino torsion terms, we argue that it can also enjoy a certain
universality in the context of supergravity and string theories, in that it
does not rely on specific or arbitrary choices of potential and/or matter
content. This then allows straightforward transplantation of these results into
other settings. We present in detail our findings establishing contact between
this scenario and known phenomenology, and discuss future avenues for research.
