Following years of incredible economic development in China, the country today is facing severe, environmental problems. This has been widely acknowledged by Chinese leaders as well as by international scholars. This work presents a detailed analysis of the foreign environmental policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for the period from 1972 to the present day.
In recent decades, the country’s behaviour changed from having an initial policy of refusal to having a more cooperative position within international negotiations, combined with voluntary agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the central government undertook its first steps towards a green, foreign environmental policy, scholars mainly analysed this changing behaviour from a political or economic standpoint.
This work, however, no longer uses ‘traditional’ viewpoints to explain the changing behaviour, but focuses on social structures that act as drivers for China’s cooperative behaviour within global environmental governance structures.
Therefore, three hypotheses are developed from a constructivist framework. According to these hypotheses, China’s foreign environmental policy is driven by three incentives: its new identity as a ‘green’ developing country; the emergence and cascade of the norm that environmental protection is a severe and urgent task; and China’s increasing engagement in international institutions which act as a forum for social learning.
Finally, the dissertation delivers a completely new approach to the environmental policy of the PRC. It contributes to the academic field as it shows that China’s environmental diplomacy – beside rational incentives that were explored by other scholars – is particularly driven by incentives such as identity, norms and institutions. Social structures therefore do matter in a nation’s foreign environmental policy.
Table of Contents
1. China’s “environmental crisis”: An introduction
2. Theoretical framework: Constructivism
2.1 Deep Roots – A Brief Introduction to the Historical Background of Constructivism
2.2 Key assumptions of constructivism
2.2.1 The three “I”s: Identities, Interests and Ideas
2.2.2 What is good, what is bad: Norms and Rules
2.2.3 Shaping states’ interests: International institutions
2.3 Critical evaluation of the theoretical background
2.4 Development of hypothesis
3. After the “miracle” – An introduction to China’s politics
4. From refusal to “hard tasks”: China’s foreign environmental policy since 1972
4.1 The 1970s: “We must not refrain from building our economy”
4.2 The 1980s: “If you want us to play, you have to pay”
4.3 The 1990s – A double-edged sword
4.4 Facing environmental issues “with hard tasks”: Promises of the new millennium
4.5 China’s development towards a ‘green’ power (1972-2012): A summary
5. Soft forces as driver for foreign environmental policy? – The case of China
5.1 Green China as leader for the Third World: The country’s new identity
5.2 Environmental protection as ‘urgent task’: The norm behind the policy
5.3 Where states are taught: International Institutions
5.4 Findings: Constructivist categories as a drive for foreign environmental policy
6. Social structures do matter: A conclusion
7. Appendices
App. 1 China’s “insatiable thirst for energy”: Increase of Electricity Use
App. 2: Production of CFCs in selected countries 1986-1996
App. 3: Multilateral Agreements to which China is a Party (OECD 2007: 326)
App. 4: International Environmental Conventions to which China is a Party
App. 5: The scientific consensus about the human influence on climate change
App. 5.1 CO2-levels over the last 60.000 years
App. 5.2 Variations of the Earth’s Surface Temperature
8. Bibliography
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This dissertation examines the foreign environmental policy of the People's Republic of China from 1972 to the present, aiming to explain the country's shifting behavior from initial refusal to active cooperation in international negotiations through a constructivist lens.
- Analysis of China's evolving identity as a "green" developing country.
- Examination of the impact of international environmental norms on Chinese policy.
- The role of international institutions as forums for social learning and norm internalisation.
- Transition from purely material, "hard" incentives (economic/political) to include ideational, "soft" social structures.
Excerpt from the Book
From refusal to “hard tasks”: China’s foreign environmental policy since 1972
As shown in the previous chapter, China today gets increasingly involved in international negotiations. The main part of this dissertation focuses particularly on the environmental negotiations that took place on the international level over recent decades. The year 1972 provides the starting point for the research, as the UN Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) held in Stockholm is often referred to as “important turning point in global environmental negotiations” (Foot and Walter, 2011: 178).
Especially from a Chinese perspective, the UNCHE meant an important step in the country’s environmental policy as this was the first international conference where it became involved. China’s participation in 1972 introduced the country to the global environmental discussion and marked the beginning of environmental discourse at a policy level in China (see Heggelund and Backer, 2007: 6). Hence, thanks to the engagement at the UN Conference of 1972 and the first national conference addressing environmental problems just one year later, the early 1970s are often seen as the starting point for Chinese environmental policy. This will be analysed in the following section.
Summary of Chapters
1. China’s “environmental crisis”: An introduction: This chapter introduces China's severe environmental problems and the country's increasing exposure to climate change risks, establishing the context for its foreign policy.
2. Theoretical framework: Constructivism: This chapter defines the constructivist approach, focusing on identities, norms, and institutions as key drivers of state behavior in international relations.
3. After the “miracle” – An introduction to China’s politics: This chapter provides an overview of China's economic rise and the resulting environmental degradation, noting the shift from isolated behavior to greater international engagement.
4. From refusal to “hard tasks”: China’s foreign environmental policy since 1972: This chapter provides the empirical analysis of China's foreign environmental policy evolution across four decades, from the 1970s to the new millennium.
5. Soft forces as driver for foreign environmental policy? – The case of China: This chapter applies constructivist hypotheses to empirical data, examining how identity, norms, and institutions drive cooperative behavior.
6. Social structures do matter: A conclusion: This chapter summarizes findings, confirming that constructivist categories serve as significant incentives alongside traditional economic motives.
Keywords
Constructivism, China, foreign environmental policy, international negotiations, climate change, identity, social norms, international institutions, social learning, sustainable development, environmental governance, People’s Republic of China, environmental diplomacy, common but differentiated responsibilities, UNFCCC.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this dissertation?
The dissertation provides a detailed analysis of the People's Republic of China's foreign environmental policy from 1972 to the present, focusing on why the country has moved toward more cooperative behavior in international negotiations.
What are the central themes of the research?
The core themes include the impact of social structures—specifically identity, norms, and international institutions—on China's foreign policy, moving beyond traditional economic or political explanations.
What is the central research question?
The research asks: “Why does China increasingly participate in international environmental agreements?”
Which theoretical approach is used?
The study utilizes a constructivist framework to demonstrate how ideas, intersubjective beliefs, and social institutions shape state interests and actions.
What does the main part of the work cover?
The main part covers empirical data from the 1970s through the 2000s, examining specific conferences like the 1972 UNCHE, the Montreal Protocol, and various UN Summits to track policy changes.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include constructivism, China, environmental diplomacy, social norms, international institutions, and sustainable development.
How does China's identity as a developing country influence its environmental policy?
China emphasizes its status as a "green" developing country to assert a leadership role among Third World nations while maintaining that economic development remains a prerequisite for stringent environmental compliance.
Why are international institutions important in this context?
Institutions act as forums for social learning, technology transfer, and norm cascade, helping to shape China's interests and facilitating its socialization into international environmental governance.
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- Jana Kötter (Autor:in), 2012, Social structures as incentives for a foreign environmental policy?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/299712
