This book provides a sophisticated overview of the theories, concepts and methods central to the complex and contentious field of International Environmental Politics (IEP). Ronald B Mitchell carefully introduces students to the political processes involved in both causing and resolving international environmental problems. Each fully integrated chapter: Links environmental policy to politics, bringing in a wide range of practical real-life examples Deepens students' theoretical understanding, helping them to identify and explain international environmental problems and their solutions Goes beyond description and develops students' ability to evaluate claims about outcomes in international environmental politics through empirical testing. A rounded, in-depth examination of IEP, this book has been specifically written for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in global environmental politics and modules of broader international relations programs. SAGE Series on the Foundations of International Relations Series Editors: Walter Carlsnaes Uppsala University, Sweden Jeffrey T. Checkel Simon Fraser University, Canada International Advisory Board: Peter J. Katzenstein Cornell University, USA Emanuel Adler University of Toronto, Canada Martha Finnemore George Washington University, USA Andrew Hurrell Oxford University, UK G. John Ikenberry Princeton University, USA Beth Simmons Harvard University, USA Steve Smith University of Exeter, UK Michael Zuern Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany The SAGE Foundations series fills the gap between narrowly-focused research monographs and broad introductory texts, providing graduate students with state-of-the-art, critical overviews of the key sub-fields within International Relations: International Political Economy, International Security, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Organization, Normative IR Theory, International Environmental Politics, Globalization, and IR Theory. Explicitly designed to further the transatlantic dialogue fostered by publications such as the SAGE Handbook of International Relations, the series is written by renowned scholars drawn from North America, continental Europe and the UK. The books are intended as core texts on advanced courses in IR, taking students beyond the basics and into the heart of the debates within each field, encouraging an independent, critical approach and signposting further avenues of research.

This book provides a sophisticated overview of the theories, concepts and methods central to the complex and contentious field of International Environmental Politics (IEP). Ronald B Mitchell carefully introduces students to the political processes involved in both causing and resolving international environmental problems. Each fully integrated chapter: Links environmental policy to politics, bringing in a wide range of practical real-life examples Deepens students' theoretical understanding, helping them to identify and explain international environmental problems and their solutions Goes beyond description and develops students' ability to evaluate claims about outcomes in international environmental politics through empirical testing. A rounded, in-depth examination of IEP, this book has been specifically written for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in global environmental politics and modules of broader international relations programs. SAGE Series on the Foundations of International Relations Series Editors: Walter Carlsnaes Uppsala University, Sweden Jeffrey T. Checkel Simon Fraser University, Canada International Advisory Board: Peter J. Katzenstein Cornell University, USA Emanuel Adler University of Toronto, Canada Martha Finnemore George Washington University, USA Andrew Hurrell Oxford University, UK G. John Ikenberry Princeton University, USA Beth Simmons Harvard University, USA Steve Smith University of Exeter, UK Michael Zuern Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany The SAGE Foundations series fills the gap between narrowly-focused research monographs and broad introductory texts, providing graduate students with state-of-the-art, critical overviews of the key sub-fields within International Relations: International Political Economy, International Security, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Organization, Normative IR Theory, International Environmental Politics, Globalization, and IR Theory. Explicitly designed to further the transatlantic dialogue fostered by publications such as the SAGE Handbook of International Relations, the series is written by renowned scholars drawn from North America, continental Europe and the UK. The books are intended as core texts on advanced courses in IR, taking students beyond the basics and into the heart of the debates within each field, encouraging an independent, critical approach and signposting further avenues of research.

This overview of recent research on how institutions matter in tackling environmental problems reports the findings and policy implications of a decade-long international research project. Studies show that institutions play a role both in causing and in addressing problems arising from human-environment interactions. But the nature of this role is complex and not easily described. This book presents an overview of recent research on how institutions matter in efforts to tackle such environmental problems as the loss of biological diversity, the degradation of forests, and the overarching issue of climate change. Using the tools of the "new institutionalism" in the social sciences, the book treats institutions as sets of rights, rules, and decision-making procedures. Individual chapters present research findings and examine policy implications regarding questions of causality, performance, and institutional design as well as the themes of institutional fit (or misfit), interplay, and scale. Institutions and Environmental Change is the product of a decade-long international research project on the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC) carried out under the auspices of the International Human Dimensions Programme. The book's policy insights demonstrate that research on institutions can provide the basis for practical advice on effective ways to deal with the most pressing environmental problems of our times. Contributors Frank Biermann, Carl Folke, Victor Galaz, Thomas Gehring, Joyeeta Gupta, Thomas Hahn, Leslie A. King, Ronald B. Mitchell, Sebastian Oberthur, Per Olsson, Heike Schroeder, Uno Svedin, Simon Tay, Arild Underdal, Oran R. Young