Politics of Climate Change

Abstract

Stemming from an observation that global power is shifting from North to South, this research project is a critical inquiry of the global power shift through climate negotiation. Climate negotiation has been selected as a case study because of its multinational dimension. Climate negotiation is a multinational process and it requires multinational cooperation. At present, it occupies a central position in International Relations (IR). It is one of the most influential topics of IR and global politics. Climate negotiation helps us to understand current characteristics, changes and transformations in global politics. It has influenced the development narrative. In the main, climate change has made global politics more convoluted. Co-operation is necessary at the international level to cut emissions. These cuts require systemic change in global climate governance. These two issues have brought climate politics to the centre of IR. Conflict and co-operation define climate negotiations, which have been influenced by the response to climate change issues by the actors. The conflict and co-operation game provides a new position to the actors. This dissertation puts forth the hypothesis that climate negotiations are redistributing power and helping actors form new identities in power shifting process. In this power redistribution and group reconstruction process, climate politics and negotiations have indicated the appearance of a new global political order led by China and other advanced developing countries.<br /> The central aim of this research has been to develop analytical tools to observe the power shifting process and make the appearance of new global order more visible. In order to conduct this research, this dissertation integrated the idea of Samuels Barkin’s constructivist realism and power theory and developed its own typology to examine power redistribution and the process of reconstruction. This dissertation conceives the idea that global politics is anarchic, actors struggle for power for developing the self-help system. Therefore, the typology considers power as controlling the agenda, limiting alternatives to opponent and wining negotiations to improve the self-help system.<br /> Based on the analytical tool, this dissertation applied qualitative research methodology to collect data and analysis. Mainly, the foreign policy of actors in climate negotiations has been closely observed based on the statements, proposal and argument in different session in conferences as well as domestic policy document of actors. An intensive semi-structured qualitative interview survey has also been conducted among the negotiators from different sections such as government delegations, NGO activists, or epistemic communities. Climate negotiations are very complicated and many domestic and global issues are connected to the negotiations, therefore, this dissertation follows Sil and Katzenstein’s “analytic eclecticism” to analyze collected data. Analytic eclecticism helps us construct new knowledge by combining different approaches in complicated situation. <br /> The research findings show that power is indeed shifting. Firstly, power is shifting between different state actors. For example BASIC countries have emerged as a connecting hub among the members of the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between developed and developing countries. For instance, China is the leader of advanced developing countries by initiating many groups such as BASIC, LMDC, G77, and China. At the same time China has made many joint announcements with USA on climate negotiations as well. China, India, Brazil and South Africa, known as BASIC countries are playing a key role as the main opposition to the developed world in the negotiation process. China has been accepted as leader of negotiating countries and China also shares the power of allied countries in its network, in particular with BASIC members. These countries are interlinked to each other and their leadership has been institutionalized by accepting proposals in decision-making process in many climate conferences. BASIC countries constitute a parallel hegemony against the US-EU hegemony on global politics.<br /> A second finding is the emergence of knowledge based non-state actors, for example NGOs, CSOs and the epistemic community. The research project shows that power is not only shifting from state to state actors, but also from state actors to non-state actors as well. Member of NGOs, CSOs and the epistemic community are included in negotiations process and they have influence on decision-making process.<br /> According to the research findings, this dissertation stresses two changes in global political structure. First, there is a clear indication of economic and geo-political power shift from north to south or from developed industrialized countries to developing countries and emergence of non-state actors as separate identity in global negotiations. <br /> Till the end of the 80s of the last century, world political groups were previously divided into two groups. One side was led by the USA and the other by the former Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR. However, after the fall of the USSR, global politics reshaped into a unipolar system under US leadership and hegemonic structure. Research findings show that the global power structure is gradually restructuring by forming a multi-polar system. China, India, Brazil, and many more players are more active and making the new leadership in the global political landscape along with non-state actors.<br /> This dissertation has mainly examined the strategy and position of state actors. It has a small section regarding non-state actors in the climate negotiations. The concluding remarks of this dissertation address the pressing need to begin serious discussion to redefine the role of non-state actors in global politics, particularly for constructivist and realist scholarships. To that end, further study and research is required in order to figure out the role and implication of non-state actors in anarchic global politics.