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Reforming international environmental governance: an institutionalist critique of the proposal for a World Environment Organisation
[journal article]
Abstract "This article argues that a World Environment Organisation (WEO) does not promise
to enhance international environmental governance. First, we claim that the establishment of an
international organisation alone in a policy field currently populated by regimes cannot be
expected to significantly impr... view more
"This article argues that a World Environment Organisation (WEO) does not promise
to enhance international environmental governance. First, we claim that the establishment of an
international organisation alone in a policy field currently populated by regimes cannot be
expected to significantly improve environmental governance because there is no qualitative
difference between these two forms of governance institutions. Second, we submit that significant
improvement of international environmental governance through institutional rearrangement
must rely on a modification of decision-making procedures and/or a change of
institutional boundaries. Third, we develop three principal models of a possible WEO. A WEO
formally providing an umbrella for existing regimes without modifying issue-areas and decisionmaking
procedures would be largely irrelevant. A WEO integrating decision-making processes
of existing regimes so as to form comprehensive ‘world environment rounds’ of intergovernmental
bargaining would be largely dysfunctional and prone to a host of negative side-effects. A
‘supranational’ WEO including large-scale use of majority decision-making and far-reaching
enforcement mechanisms across a range of environmental issues might considerably enhance
international environmental governance, but it appears to be grossly utopian. In conclusion, a
WEO cannot be at the same time realistic, significant and beneficial for international environmental
governance. Available political resources should be invested in advancing existing and
emerging sectoral environmental regimes rather than in establishing a WEO." [author's abstract]... view less
Keywords
international cooperation; institution; global governance; governance; multilateralism; environment; cooperation; environmental protection
Classification
Special areas of Departmental Policy
Ecology, Environment
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Method
documentation
Free Keywords
co-operation theory; international environmental governance; international institutions; multilateral environmental agreements; regime theory; World Environment Organisation
Document language
English
Publication Year
2004
Page/Pages
p. 359-381
Journal
International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 4 (2004) 4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-004-3095-6
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications
Data providerThis metadata entry was indexed by the Special Subject Collection Social Sciences, USB Cologne