Plan for Today: Human Rights & Environmental Issues in IR

1. Plan for Today:Human Rights & Environmental Issues in IR • Constructivist explanation for why states sign/ comply with human rights conventions. • Introduce you to brief history of environmental issues in IR. • Familiarize with environmental conflict as one major approach to understanding environmental issues in IR.

2. “Liberal Constructivist” Explanation (Risse & Sikkink) • Norms adopted through process of socialization – identity construction. • “Norm entrepreneurs”: NGOs, IOs, some government agencies. • Entrepreneurs often form “transnational advocacy networks” (TANs) (Keck & Sikkink).

3. “Boomerang Effect” of TANs(Risse & Sikkink) Human rights regimes & IOs Human rights INGOs Western powers State X Government X Domestic opposition NGOs

4. “Spiral Model” of Norm Adoption(Risse & Sikkink) • Repression of human rights in a state. • Denial of abuses. • Tactical concessions by state. • Prescriptive status of human rights norms – state accepts norm and implements in policy. • Institutionalization of norm: taken-for-granted.

5. Constructivist concept of “norm cascade” (Sunstein) • Support for norm grows until supported by enough actors to reach “tipping point”  adoption by other actors happens rapidly.

6. Constructivist concept of “norm cascade” (Sunstein) • Debate about state motivations causing cascade: • State-centric: states adopt formally to mimic other states but don’t believe in norm. • Nonstate actor-focused: nonstate actors pressure states and change public opinion.

7. “Liberal Constructivist” Explanation • Problem: • (Moravcsik) Why are liberal democratic states not biggest proponents of HR conventions? • Response: Norm entrepreneurs not primarily states.

8. Summary of Explanations for HR diffusion

9. The Environment

10. Brief History of Environment in IR • Not considered relevant to IR by most until 1980s. • Precipitated by discovery of growing hole in ozone layer over Antarctica, caused by CFC chemicals. • Realization that jointly created problem could threaten survival of all.

11. Brief History of Environment in IR • Many issues of global environmental degradation illustrate “tragedy of the commons” (Hardin 1968). • Gains from exploiting resources concentrated, while costs dispersed. • Similar in ozone hole, global warming, deforestation, ocean pollution, overfishing…

12. Brief History of Environment in IR • With ozone crisis, scholars began to see ramifications for international politics. • How can states resolve looming disasters, when divided by power, wealth, and responsibility for creating problems? • Rio Earth Summit (1992) largest diplomatic gathering in world history – IR took notice.

13. Brief History of Environment in IR • Since then, theorists mostly trying to understand environmental problems through traditional analytical frameworks of mainstream IR: • (Potential) Conflict. • Negotiation of formal regimes and agreements.

14. Environmental Conflict • Because of increasing environmental problems, conflicts based on them may become more frequent and serious. • Conflicts likely more pronounced in poorer countries.

15. How might environmental problems lead to conflict? (Homer-Dixon) • Changing environment shifts resources and power relations among states. • Poor nations become fed up and demand greater share of the world’s resources. • Countries fight over water supplies and effects of upstream pollution.

16. E.g. Wazzani River, Lebanon

17. How might environmental problems lead to conflict? • Environmental refugees from land-use pressures/ disasters  big strains on neighbouring countries. • Could exacerbate tensions in other conflicts (e.g. ethnic).