Ecology and foreign policy : theoretical lessons from the literature

A comprehensive understanding of international environmental politics requires attention to foreign policy. In this essay we describe many of the most prominent—and some of the less prominent—theories and approaches to foreign policy and international relations, with emphasis on how they can help us to better understand foreign policy in the environmental issue area. We organize the theories into three categories: systemic theories, which emphasize the influence of the international system, including the distribution of power within it; societal theories, which focus our attention on domestic politics and culture; and state-centric theories, which find answers to questions about foreign policy within the structure of the state and the individuals who promulgate and implement foreign policies in the name of a given country. Within this presentation of various theories, we highlight the influence of power, interests and ideas

Responding to Global Warming: Adaptation and Transformational Change

The inadequacy of global efforts to reduce emissions of gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and result in global warming has led to greater attention to coping with a warmer world. While the capacity to adjust in various ways to higher global average temperatures might imply less urgency to reducing emissions, adaptation is also costly. Thus, questions of equity and responsibility arise. As a global problem, climate change faces the challenges of formulating and implementing legal, ethical, and normative obligations. The system of sovereign states assumes that governments will attend first to their own interests. If economic growth requires burning more than a countr

THE ETHICS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable development has become a central value of the United Nations and a broadly accepted goal for policy makers around the world. In part, the case for sustainable development asserts ethical obligations to the poor, historically disadvantaged countries, and fu-ture generations. Such ethical obligations have become embodied in international law and practice. The most widely recognized definition states

Environmental Change and Foreign Policy: A Survey of Theory

Acomprehensive understanding of international environmental politics re quires attention to foreign policy. In this essay we describe a wide range of theories and approaches to foreign policy and international relations, with emphasis on how they can help us to better understand foreign policy in the environmental issue area. We organize the theories into three categories: systemic theories, which emphasize the influence of the international system, including the distribution of power within it; societal theories, which focus our attention on domestic politics and culture; and state-centric theories, which find answers to questions about foreign policy within the structure of the state and the individuals who promulgate and implement foreign policies in the name of a given country. Within this presentation of various theories, we highlight the influence of power, interests and ideas. Copyright (c) 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.