Abstract :
The advent of high resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulations allows us to now study the dynamics of barred galaxies, such as our own Milky Way, within the full ΛCDM cosmological context. I will present what we have learned about the formation history of our galaxy and its inner structures -- such as the bar and the boxy/peanut bulge -- by comparing the chemo-dynamical properties of stellar populations of these inner regions to the Auriga cosmological simulations. In particular, I will present evidence of the almost entirely in-situ formation of the Galaxy's bulge, and of its unusually quiescent merger history. I will also show how studying the dynamics of barred galaxies in cosmological simulations -- in particular the interaction through dynamical friction of the bar and the dark matter halo -- can help us shed light on the amount of dark matter in massive spiral galaxies. I will discuss these findings within the context of the recently reported "failed feedback problem" as well as within the context of galaxy formation and evolution in general.