Actors at the International Level

There is no global government, but there is a system of global governance, although opinion is divided at least four ways on how best to understand it. Opinion is also divided on the place of states in the international system. Realists focus on the self-interest of states, liberals believe in the possibilities of international cooperation, some feel that states are becoming stronger, and others believe they are becoming weaker. The environment is on the agenda of a large network of intergovernmental organizations, but there are mixed opinions regarding their efficacy. A particular kind of intergovernmental organization is the treaty secretariat, whose numbers have grown in the wake of the signature of more environmental treaties. As with their national counterparts, international non-governmental organizations have filled in some of the gaps left by political initiatives on the environment. Debates about sustainability have raised troubling questions about patterns of international business in the face of globalization, and of demographic, economic, and social change. The previous chapter used the perspectives of comparative politics to assess the manner in which environmental politics evolve – and environmental policy is shaped and implemented – at the state level. This chapter uses the perspectives of international relations to assess the actors, influences, and politics involved in the shaping and implementation of environmental policy at the international level. While such actors are relatively easy to identify – they include states, intergovernmental organizations, treaty secretariats, non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations – they all function within an international system whose dynamics are both complex and constantly changing, and are subject to competing theoretical analyses.