Climate politics in the multi-level governance system: emissions trading and institutional changes in environmental policy-making

In weniger als zehn Jahren reüssierte der Emissionshandel als klimapolitisches Instrument vom politischen Agenda-Setting über die Politikformulierung bis zu seiner Umsetzung - und das noch dazu in Form verschiedener Handelssysteme auf mehreren politischen Ebenen; zum einen als zwischenstaatlicher Emissionshandel im Rahmen des Kyoto-Protokolls, zum anderen als Emissionshandel für energieintensive Unternehmen innerhalb der Europäischen Union. Nicht nur wegen der Geschwindigkeit des Prozesses, sondern auch, weil der Emissionshandel als zielführendes und effizientes Instrument zur Vermeidung von Treibhausgasemissionen gilt, wird seine Einführung zumeist als Erfolgsstory betrachtet. Der vorliegende Beitrag beleuchtet diese Erfolgsstory kritisch auf der Grundlage von Hypothesen, die der Multi-Level-Governance-Forschung entlehnt wurden. Dabei erfolgt die theoretische Diskussion entlang einer deskriptiv-analytischen Wiedergabe des Einführungsprozesses, welcher die wichtigsten Akteure, Konflikte und zeitlichen Meilensteine in der Diskussion des Emissionshandels herausarbeitet. Welche Rückschlüsse lässt die rasante Einführung des Emissionshandels auf die Verflechtung von Akteuren und Institutionen im politischen Mehrebenensystem zu? Inwieweit geht mit ihr eine Kompetenzverlagerung von nationalen Regierungen auf supra- oder internationale Institutionen über, und kann man dabei von einem weiteren Souveränitätsverlust der Nationalstaaten sprechen? Bedingen Politikverflechtung und Souveränitätsverlust ein Demokratiedefizit, oder kann demokratische Legitimation durch die starke Partizipation von zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen oder der verstärkten Einbindung etwa des Europäischen Parlaments sichergestellt werden? Die Antworten auf diese Fragen bleiben durchaus ambivalent: Das Agenda-Setting des Emissionshandels kann als ein expertokratischer top-down-Prozess betrachtet werden, bei dem sich einige wenige wissensstarke Verhandlungsakteure gegen zahlreiche andere durchgesetzt haben. Andererseits ist der Prozess der Umsetzung durch eine beispiellose politische Partizipation gekennzeichnet, in der auch weiche Formen des Regierens zum Tragen kamen. Die Einführung des Emissionshandels zeigt deutlich, dass Nachhaltigkeit ein gesellschaftlicher Suchprozess ist, der stets neu die unterschiedlichen Machtverhältnisse ausbalancieren und eine Öffnung des politischen Prozesses erwirken muss. --

Trade policy with the lights on: linking trade and politicization

As the most hotly debated trade topic in recent history, several observers have dubbed TTIP a ‘politicized’ issue. Yet in the trade literature, there has not been much attention to what the latter concept entails, nor what its drivers and consequences are. I argue that we need to explicitly link the scholarly fields of trade and politicization, not only to explain several societal features in the TTIP debate, but also because it carries constraining consequences for policymakers on national and European level, and because this link will be increasingly relevant in the future. Through a selected review of the politicization literature, I want to show that linking these fields is beneficial in both ways. This opens up a research agenda that maps, explains and investigates the consequences of the increasing societal contestation of trade policy, manifested through public debates, mobilization efforts and rising citizen awareness

Renewing cohesion policy: recent progress and long-term challenges : Paper prepared for the 28th meeting of the EoRPA Regional Policy Research Consortium at Ross Priory, Loch Lomondside on 7-9 October 2006

Reviews the reform of cohesion policy in the last five years

On the institutional innovation process : EU regulation through an evolutionary lens

The focal point of this paper is the study of the process of emergence of novel institutions and the identification of factors that may influence the outcome of this process. We view inst accepted sets of rules that influence We consider regulations as endogenously emerging institutions that evolve in accordance to other socioeconomic factors and analyze the regulatory process at each of its stages adopting an evolutionary approach. Evidence shows that the regulatory process resembles the innovation process as it can be viewed as a process of knowledge accumulation and transmission that is facilitate empirically contextualized in the European political system, the detergents industry and specific regulations formed at European level. Data is drawn by secondary resour of public and private stakeholders participating in the processEvolutionary theory, Institutions, Regulation, Policy

Theorizing EU trade politics

This special issue aims to take the first step towards an inter-paradigmatic debate in the study of European Union trade politics

VARIABLE GEOMETRY FOR THE WTO: CONCEPT AND PRECEDENTS

In the aftermath of the breakdown of the multilateral trade negotiations in Cancun in mid-September 2003, various ideas have been put forward not only for their re-launching but also more broadly for the reform of the WTO as an institution and as a repository for agreements on trade and related matters. Amongst the latter is the idea of a WTO characterized by variable geometry, in other words of a WTO that would serve as an umbrella framework for agreements on trade issues whose signatories would not necessarily include all its members, and thus as a vehicle for some countries to undertake deeper integration or liberalization regarding selected subjects without trammels due to the unwillingness of other members to go along. This paper reviews this concept in the context of the history of the GATT/WTO and of different views as to its underlying rationale. It also takes a preliminary look at what a framework of variable geometry might involve and considers some of the benefits and problems likely to be associated with a multi-tier WTO. The paper begins with a review of features of the rules of the GATT which allowed for various kinds of non-uniformity in their application. While some of these were of a highly specific nature, others involved more fundamental departures from the principle of universal applicability. Of particular interest in this context are the Codes negotiated during the Tokyo Round. In the discussion of pertinent issues regarding the rationale and function of the GATT/WTO which follows, attention is drawn to the contrast between those who emphasize the role of non-discriminatory trade rules as a vehicle for reducing sources of economic and ultimately political and military conflict, on the one hand, and those who give greater importance to the WTO´s role as an instrument for achieving convergence in business regimes worldwide, on the other. In a sketch of possible solutions to some of the problems of reconciling variable geometry with WTO rules, the paper devotes special attention to the deviations from the MFN principle which would be involved, and to accession conditions for plurilateral agreements. The idea of variable geometry was raised during the Uruguay Round when the constitution of the new multilateral organization (which was eventually to be the WTO) was under consideration. However, the structure eventually adopted reflects the concept of a "single package" or "single undertaking". More recently the European Union has floated recourse to a plurilateral approach as a way of getting out of the present negotiating impasse regarding certain subjects. However, developing countries have not proved receptive partly, it is reasonable to assume, because the approach would not do anything to resolve the major conflicts in the areas of tariffs and subsidies currently blocking resumption of the negotiations or to deal with features of the outcome of the Uruguay Round which some consider should actually be rolled back. The counter-argument, which refers as much to the longer- term as to the present impasse, is that a multi-tier framework may enable the WTO to avoid the paralysis which could result from attempting to reach uniformly applicable agreements on trade-related subjects among countries with interests and concerns reflecting different levels of economic development.

Gender (in)equality, globalization and governance

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.ILO_Gender_in_equalityGlobalizationandGovernance.pdf: 768 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020