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Abstract
This article investigates how transnational NGO cooperation can influence the official Chinese stance on climate change politics. Drawing on the constructivist approach to international relations, the so-called ‘spiral model’, developed by Risse et al (1999) for the human rights field, is applied to environmental politics for the first time. The model is tested by process tracing the historical development of the Chinese position on climate change and by analysing the roles and impacts of different actors in different phases of norm internalization. The model is complemented by an in-depth analysis of present transnational NGO campaigns in China. Although results show that international and Chinese NGOs have an influence on Chinese climate politics, the model's assumption about the causes for a norm internalization could only partly be confirmed: instead of the pressurizing strategies of the transnational advocacy network, instruments of sharing information seem to be more effective in changing Chinese climate politics.
Notes
1 Epistemic communities are defined according to Haas (Citation1992, 3) as ‘a network of professionals with recognized expertise and competence in a particular domain and an authorative claim to policy-relevant knowledge within that domain or issue-area’.
2 ‘Tragedies of the common’ describes a situation in which damage caused by the action of one actor to the whole community surpasses the utility of the action for the actor causing it (Hardin Citation1968).
3 ‘Collective action problems’ exist when a cooperative solution to a problem is beneficial to all actors but would open the possibility for one or several actors to free-ride on the actions (and benefits) carried out by only a few actors.
4 This assessment is shared by Johnston (Citation1998, 558) and Hatch (Citation2001, 22).
5 Different positions on the question of whether to substitute the traditional Chinese development model with a model of sustainable development can be found in Xiao (Citation1995), Cai (Citation1997a, Citation1997b), Zhao (Citation1998) and Liu (Citation1995).
7 Confidential interview with representative of International NGO E, 16 January 2008, Beijing.
6 The COP is comprised of countries that have ratified or acceded to the UNFCCC and is the supreme governing body of the UNFCCC. The COP/MOP is comprised of Parties to the UNFCCC who are also Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
8 Confidential interviews with representatives of Chinese NGOs D and F, 16 and 21 January 2008, Beijing.
9 Confidential interviews with representatives of Chinese NGOs D and F, 16 and 21 January 2008, Beijing.
10 Confidential interview with representative of Chinese NGO K, 1 February 2008, Beijing.
11 Confidential interviews with representatives of Chinese NGOs D and K and international NGO E, 16 January 2008 and 1 February 2008, Beijing.
12 Confidential interview with representative of international NGO E, 16 January 2008, Beijing.
13 Confidential interview with representative of Chinese NGO J, 24 January 2008, Beijing.
14 Confidential interview with representative of Chinese NGO G, 21 January 2008, Beijing.
15 Confidential interviews with representatives of Chinese NGOs F and K, 21 January 2008 and 1 February 2008, Beijing.
16 Confidential interviews with representatives of international NGO E and Chinese NGOs F, G and J, 16 January 2008, 21 February 2008 and 24 February 2008, Beijing.