This document provides a complete summary lectures 18-21 of the core module International relations. It includes all readings and lecture content for the fourth IR quiz.
Lecture 18: Environmental politics 2
Newell and Paterson 1998: A climate for business 9
Irwin 2019: Climate change’s giant impact on the economy 13
Lecture 19: Covid-19 in International Relations 15
Oldekop et al 2020: COVID-19 and the case for global development 22
Gostin et al 2020: Reimagining Global Health Governance in the Age of COVID-19 25
Lecture 20: Migration 27
Burgoon 2014: Immigration, Integration, and Support for Redistribution in Europe 34
Porter and Russell 2018: Migrants Are on the Rise Around the World, and Myths About
Them Are Shaping Attitudes 38
Lecture 21: Transnational human rights regimes 47
Ruggie 2014: Global governance and “new governance theory” 56
,Lecture 18: Environmental politics
Global environmental politics
● Existing perspectives on IR of the environment, and how these inform our
understanding of environmental politics and particular policy proposals
○ Offering 4 perspectives
● New trend: The case for green theory (5th perspective)
Understanding global environmental politics: through conventional IR theories?
● To some degree, but…
● Additional factors enter the mix
○ Degree of urgency given to problem of environmental change
○ Understanding of relationship between nature and humans as well as politics and
planet
● Has since the 1980s led to 4 different perspectives on IR of the environment, informing
different ideas about…
○ DIAGNOSIS of environmental change as a problem
○ CAUSE of environmental change
○ SOLUTIONS for environmental change
● And a recent, post 2015, more radical plea for green theory
The environment in IR
● Origins of environmentalism:
○ Romanticism of 18th century → looking at the aesthetic value of nature
■ Highlighting the cold and dark aesthetic of industrialism and focusing on
the beauty of nature instead
○ Theory of evolution → science looking at the evolution of nature
■ Turning out attention to look at how nature is a significant part of who we
are
○ Conservation movement → preserving wildlife and habitats
● Expansion of scientific agenda in early 20th century
○ Science of ecology → more holistically integrated approach to understanding
nature
○ Focus on ecosystems → looking at our surroundings as a system
● On international agenda since 1970s
○ More scientific knowledge about environmental problems
○ Civil society organizations
○ Green parties
, ● Late 20th century
○ Mainstreaming of environmental issues in IR and beyond
Question: CAN MARKETS ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BEHAVIOR ACROSS THE
PLANET?
Market Liberals
Inspiration Neo classical economics → human as rational, looking at marginal
utility etc.
Diagnosis Environmental change is a problem, but it can be solved →
degree of urgency is medium
Cause Market imperfections are the basis of environmental problems
Solution Creating new effective markets; streamlining existing markets
through legal adjustments and improving information and
signalling
● Tragedy of the commons → market as a problem
○ Analogy: There is a pasture where there are sheep and shepherds
■ Each shepard is responsible for their sheep
■ The pasture belongs to no one
■ The grass feeds the sheep but also not owned by anyone
■ So market liberals say the shepherds are rational actors who will try to
buy as many sheep to eat the grass
■ Once the sheep is healthy, they will try to profit as much as possible from
them
○ BUT from a macro level problematic:
■ Grass is gone quickly and cannot be used for future generations of
shepherds
■ Macro level it makes more sense to let the sheep graze after the grass has
had time to regenerate → allows more shepherds over a long period of
time
○ Another analogy with fish:
■ Fishermen try to get as many fish to sell it which is correct according to
rational behaviour
■ BUT this is not good for the lake because there will be no fish anymore
■ So each fisherman should be limited
, ○ Market liberals argue that there is a market failure because the environment gets
depleted because economic rational behavior is not sustainable
● Negative externalities
○ Buyer and seller engage in economic transaction → “third party” suffers
consequences
■ Production preceding transaction → leading to pollution for example
■ Consumption following transaction → plastic waste or emissions from
cars
○ 3rd party not profiting at all → worrying as market transactions create problems
● Examples market solutions: by making markets better or creating new ones
○ Property rights for commons
■ Could address both tragedy of commons and some negative externalities
■ So there is someone to maintain the commons → someone is responsible
for that area
■ If owners are rational they will want to manage it sustainably
○ Carbon emissions markets
■ Regulations on a market for emissions → hold all parties responsible
■ Those who emit less can sell a permit to another party
■ So through trade of rights to emit creates an overall situation where there
can be an overall decrease in carbon emissions
○ Consumer labels for environmentally friendly products
■ So improving information for consumers
● Example of research agenda and findings
○ Consumer labels and their attractiveness → Relationship price and
environmental label
○ Clear group of consumers who are interested in buying more sustainable
products
○ If those prices are high that a significant amount of consumers will not buy them
○ So high prices for sustainable products means a loss of consumers
○ But also if low prices for sustainable products also lose consumers → people
believe sustainable products must be expensive and begin to doubt the claim
that the product is sustainable
Question: HOW CAN INTERNATIONAL TREATIES CONTRIBUTE TO MITIGATING HARMFUL
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE?
Institutionalists
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller bapolisci. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.72. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
