University of Florida

INR 6352

Fall 2009

 

International Environmental Relations

Dr. Samuel Barkin

 

Office: 221 Anderson Hall.

Office Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 10am-noon, or by appointment

352-273-2399

barkin@polisci.ufl.edu

 

         This course in an introduction to theories of international environmental politics. This is a course about international politics, not about the global environment per se.  It focuses on the question of how environmental management and regulation happens in a world of sovereign states. It deals with various ways of thinking about this question. While specific international environmental issues will be used as illustrations, the course is organized around theoretical approaches, rather than issues.

 

         You will be expected to have done the week's reading before each class, and to come to class prepared to discuss the reading in depth. In the student presentation week, you will be reading the papers of those of your colleagues who are presenting that week. You will be expected not only to have read the papers in depth, but to be prepared to comment on them in some detail. You will also be expected to track one particular international environmental issue through the semester, and to report on it occasionally in class. Class participation, including these reports and commentary on your colleaguesÕ papers, will comprise 30% of the final grade.

 

         A further 20% of the final grade will come from short papers written in response to particular weeksÕ readings. You will be expected to write 4 papers, worth 5% each. The papers should be between 500 and 800 words long. Everyone will do a paper for the class of September 9, and for 3 of the following 8 weeks  These should be critical papers, rather than literature reviews; they should analyze the weeks reading, rather than describing them. Papers should be submitted to me by email at least 3 hours before the beginning of class.

 

         The other half of your grade will be determined by a research paper. This paper, of roughly 6,000 words, will examine one particular issue in international environmental politics (this can be a particular environmental issue, a particular organization, or a particular political problem that affects the management of the environment internationally). It should apply the insights of the various course themes and readings to its particular problem.

 

         A prospectus of the paper, of roughly 1,000 words, is due at the beginning of class on October 14. A draft of the full paper is due by noon on November 12. You will present your findings in class the following week. The final paper is due at the beginning of the last class on December 9. More detailed instructions will be provided in due course. The prospecus will be graded, and will comprise 10% of the final grade, as will the presentation. The final paper will comprise the remaining 30% of the grade.  

 

Two books have been ordered through the bookstore:

            -Elizabeth DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, 2nd edition (London: Continuum, 2006).

            -Jennifer Clapp and Peter Dauvergne, Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005).

All other readings are available either online, or directly from me (indicated with an asterisk).

 

Class Schedule

 

August 26:  Introduction

 

September 9:  Environmental Politics and International Relations

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 1-38.

            -*Stephen Krasner, Structural Conflict: The Third World Against Global Liberalism (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1985), pp. 227-264. 

            -*Samuel Barkin and George Shambaugh, "Hypotheses on the International Politics of Common Pool Resources" and "Conclusions: Common Pool Resources and International Environmental Negotiations," in Barkin and Shambaugh, eds., Anarchy and the Environment: The International Relations of Common Pool Resources (Albany: SUNY Press, 1999), pp. 1-25 and 176-198. 

            -*Eric Laferriere, "Emancipating International Relations Theory: An Ecological Perspective." Millennium vol. 25 (1996), pp. 53-75. 

            -Garrett Hardin, ÒThe Tragedy of the Commons.Ó Science vol. 162 (13 December 1968), pp. 1243-1248.

            -Shlomi Dinar, ÒScarcity and Cooperation Along International Rivers.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 9 #1 (2009), pp. 109-135.

 

September 16:  Framing the Problem

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 62-79.

            -Clapp and Dauvergne, Paths to a Greener World, pp. 1-117.

            -Thomas Princen, Michael Maniates, and Ken Conca, ÒConfronting Consumption,Ó in Princen, Maniates and Conca, eds., Confronting Consumption (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002), pp. 1-20. 

            -Steven Bernstein, "Ideas, Social Structure, and the Compromise of Liberal Environmentalism." European Journal of International Relations vol. 6 (2000). 

            -Karen Litfin, "The Greening of Sovereignty: An Introduction," in Litfin, ed., The Greening of Sovereignty in World Politics (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1998), pp. 1-27.

 

September 23:  Science, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 39-61.

            -Dale Jamieson, "Scientific Uncertainty and the Political Process." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences #545 (1996), pp. 35-43.  

            -*Peter Haas, "Obtaining International Environmental Protection Through Epistemic Consensus." Millennium vol. 19 (1990), pp. 347-364. 

            -Karin Backstrand, "Scientisation vs. Civic Expertise in Environmental Governance: Eco-feminist, Eco-modern and Post-modern Responses." in Environmental Politics vol. 13 (2004), pp. 695-714.

            -Raino Malnes, ÒImperfect Science.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #3(2006), pp. 58-71.

            -Peter Jacques, ÒThe Rearguard of Modernity: Environmental Skepticism as a Struggle of Citizenship.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #1(2006), pp. 76-101.

 

September 30:  Non-State Actors

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 80-111.

            -Clapp and Dauvergne, Paths to a Green World, pp. 157-188.

            -Paul Wapner, "Politics Beyond the State: Environmental Activism and World Civic Politics." World Politics vol. 47 (1995), pp. 311-340. 

            -Elizabeth DeSombre, ÒBaptists and Bootleggers for the Environment: The Origins of United States Unilateral Sanctions.Ó Journal of Environment and Development vol. 4 (1995), pp. 53-75.

            -Robert Falkner, ÒPrivate Environmental Governance and International Relations: Exploring the Links,Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 3 #2 (2003), pp. 72-87. 

            -Ronie Garcia-Johnson, Exporting Environmentalism: U.S. Multinational Chemical Corporations in Brazil and Mexico (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000), pp. 1-25; 187-200. 

            -Frank Alcock, ÒConflicts and Coalitions Within and Across the ENGO Community.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 8 #4 (2008), pp. 66-91.

 

October 7: Negotiations

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 146-238.

            -Susan Sell, "North-South Environmental Bargaining: Ozone, Climate Change, and Biodiversity." Global Governance vol. 2 (1996), pp. 97-118. 

            -Detlef Sprinz and Tapani Vaahtoranta, ÒThe Interest-Based Explanation of International Environmental Policy,Ó International Organization 48 (1994), pp. 77-105. 

            -Jon Hovi and Detlef Sprintz, ÒThe Limits of the Law of the Least Ambitious Program.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #3 (2006), pp. 28-42.

            -Itay Fischhendler, ÒWhen Ambiguity in Treaty Design Becomes Destructive: A Study of Transboundary Water.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol 8 #1 (2008), pp. 111-136.

 

October 14: International Environmental Regimes

            -Ronald Mitchell, "Regime Design Matters: International Oil Pollution and Treaty Compliance." International Organization vol. 48 (1994), pp. 425-458. 

            -*Robert Keohane, Peter Haas, and Marc Levy, "The Effectiveness of International Environmental Institutions," in Haas, Keohane, and Levy, eds, Institutions for the Earth: Sources of Effective International Environmental Protection (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1993), pp. 3-24.

            -Kal Raustiala and David Victor, ÒThe Regime Complex for Plant Genetic Resources.Ó International Organization vol. 58 (2004), pp. 277-309.

            -Oran Young and Marc Levy, "The Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes," in Young, ed., The Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes: Causal Connections and Behavioral Mechanisms (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999), pp. 1-32.

            -John Hovi, Detlef F. Sprinz, and Arild Underdal, ÒThe Oslo-Potsdam Solution to Measuring Regime Effectiveness: Critique, Response, and the Road Ahead,Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 3 #3 (2003), pp. 74-96. 

            -Oran R. Young, ÒDetermining Regime Effectiveness: A Commentary on the Oslo-Potsdam Solution,Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 3 #3 (2003), pp. 97-104. 

 

October 14: International Environmental Governance

            -Ronald Mitchell, ÒProblem Structure, Institutional Design, and the Relative Effectiveness of International Environmental Agreements.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #3 (2006), pp. 72-89.

            -Steffen Bauer, ÒDoes Bureaucracy Really Matter? The Authority of Intergovernmental Treaty Secretariats in Global Environmental Politics.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #1 (2006), pp. 23-49.

            -Michael Mason, ÒThe Governance of Transnational Environmental Harm: Addressing New Modes of Accountability/Responsibility.Ó Global Environmental Governance vol. 8 #3 (2008), pp. 8-24.

            -Jon Birger Skj¾rseth, Olav Schram Stokke and J¿rgen Wettestad, ÒSoft Law, Hard Law, and Effective Implementation of International Environmental Norms.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #3 (2006), pp. 104-120.

            -Charlotte Epstein, ÒThe Making of Global Environmental Norms: Endangered Species Protection.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6 #2 (2006), pp. 32-54.

            -Bernd Siebenhuner, ÒLearning in International Organizations in Global Environmental Governance.Ó Global Environmental Governance vol. 8 #4 (2008), pp. 92-116.

            -Adil Najam, Ioli Christopoulou, and William Moomaw, ÒThe Emergent ÔSystemÕ of Global Environmental Governance.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 4 #4 (2004), pp. 23-35.

 

October 28: The International Economy 1

            -Clapp and Dauvergne, Paths to a Greener World, pp. 119-155.

            -Marc Williams, ÒTrade and Environment in the World Trading System:  A Decade of Stalemate?Ó Global Environmental Politics 1(4) (November 2001), pp. 1-9. 

            -Alasdair Young, ÒPicking the Wrong Fight: Why Attacks on the World Trade Organization Pose the Real Threat to National Environmental and Public Health Protection.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 5, #4 (2005), pp. 47-72.

            -Sarah Lieberman and Tim Gray, ÒWorld Trade Organization's Report on the EU's Moratorium on Biotech Products: The Wisdom of the US Challenge to the EU in the WTO.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 8, #1 (2008), pp. 33-52.

            -Christoph Gšrg and Ulrich Brand, ÒContested Regimes in the International Political Economy: Global Regulation of Genetic Resources and the Internationalization of the State.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6, #4 (2006), pp. 101-123.

            -Daniel Nelson and Michael Tierney, ÒDelegation to International Organizations:  Agency Theory and World Bank Environmental Reform.Ó  International Organization vol. 57, #2 (Spring 2003), pp. 241-276. 

 

November 4:  The International Economy 2

            -Clapp and Dauvergne, Paths to a Greener World, pp. 189-220.

            -Arthur P.J. Mol, ÒEcological Modernization and the Global Economy,Ó Global Environmental Politics 2(2) (May 2002), pp. 92-115. 

            -Elizabeth R. DeSombre, ÒFishing under Flags of Convenience: Using Market Power to Increase Participation in International Regulation.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 5, #4 (2005), pp. 73-94.

            -Katharina Holzinger, Christoph Knill and Thomas Sommerer, ÒEnvironmental Policy Convergence: The Impact of International Harmonization, Transnational Communication, and Regulatory Competition.Ó International Organization vol. 62, #4 (2008), pp. 553-587.

            -Andrew Miller and Nives Dolšak, ÒIssue Linkages in International Environmental Policy: The International Whaling Commission and Japanese Development Aid.Ó  Global Environmental Politics vol. 7, #1 (2007), pp. 69-96.

 

November 18: Presentations

 

December 2:  Climate Change

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 112-145.

            -Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 10 December, 1997. 

            -David Victor, ÒToward Effective International Cooperation on Climate Change: Numbers, Interests and Institutions.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6, #3 (2006), pp. 90-103.

            -Loren Cass, ÒNorm Entrapment and Preference Change: The Evolution of the European Union Position on International Emissions Trading.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 5, #2 (2005), pp. 38-60.

            -Liliana Andonova, Michele Betsill, and Harriet Bulkeley, ÒTransnational Climate Governance.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 9, #2 (2009), pp. 52-73.

            -Chukwumerije Okereke, Harriety Bulkeley, and Heike Schroeder, ÒConceptualizing Climate Governance Beyond the International Regime.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 9, #1 (2009), pp. 58-78.

            -Samuel Barkin, ÒDiscounting the Discount Rate: Ecocentrism and Environmental Economics.Ó Global Environmental Politics vol. 6, #4 (2006), pp. 56-72.

 

December 9:  Conclusions

            -DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, pp. 239-243.

            -Clapp and Dauvergne, Paths to a Greener World, pp. 221-243.