Impacts of Climate Change on World Security. Policy Response to Global Climate Change and Role of Soft Power in the EU and China

Masterarbeit , 2010 , 102 Seiten , Note: 2,6

Politik - Klima- und Umweltpolitik

Global climate change has become one of the greatest challenges of our times. The UN has started to tackle this global challenge as a security issue. Respecting the initiative and role of the UN, the EU has played a strong leadership role for global climate change by proactively setting international agendas, implementing emissions reductions, and helping poor countries adapt to climate change. Clearly, it has responded more actively to global climate change than any other countries in the world. Although China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is now seeking to take climate change leadership, its policy response is still limited compared to the EU.

This thesis aims to examine which factors make the EU take more active climate change policy. It will find out why a country’s soft power is the main determinant to enable the country to respond more actively to global climate change. For the research, we will look into the following four factors: vulnerability to impacts of climate change on security; understanding of global climate change (as a source of soft power); economic power (as a source of hard power); and democracy in politics and society (as a source of soft power).

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Abstract
• 1. Introduction
• 1.1. Global Climate Change and Security: From Rio, Kyoto to Copenhagen
• 1.2. Climate Change Leadership and Soft Power: The EU and China
• 2. Research Design
• 2.1. Research Question
• 2.2. Variables and Operationalization
• 2.2.1. Dependent Variable and DV-Indicators
• 2.2.2. Independent Variables and IV-Indicators
• 2.3. Hypothesis and Expected Result
• 2.4. Theoretical Framework
• 2.5. Methodology
• 3. Comparative Analysis: The EU and China
• 3.1. [DV] Policy Response to Global Climate Change
• 3.1.1. Setting (or Existence) of Emission Reduction Targets and Other Commitments under the Kyoto Protocol
• 3.1.2. Setting of Future Emissions Targets and Other Commitments for the Post-Kyoto World
• 3.1.3. Financial offer for Poor Countries Vulnerable to Climate Change after the Copenhagen Summit (2010-2020)
• 3.1.4. Summary
• 3.2. [IV1] Vulnerability to Impacts of Climate Change on Security
• 3.2.1. Food Security
• 3.2.2. Water Security
• 3.2.3. Health Security
• 3.2.4. Other Climate Effects
• 3.2.5. Summary
• 3.3. [DV2] Understanding of Global Climate Change (As a Source of Soft Power)
• 3.3.1. Position of Governments towards the Relationship between Climate Change and Security
• 3.3.2. Public Awareness of Global Climate Change
• 3.3.3. Summary
• 3.4. [IV3] Economic Power (As a Source of Hard Power)
• 3.4.1. GDP and Economic Growth Rate
• 3.4.2. GDP Per Capita and Standard of Living
• 3.4.3. Preparation of Economy for a Low Carbon World
• 3.4.4. Summary
• 3.5. [V4] Democracy in Politics and Society (As a Source of Soft Power)
• 3.5.1. Type of Regime
• 3.5.2. Degree of Corruption
• 3.5.3. Degree of Freedom
• 3.5.4. Summary
• 4. Conclusions
• References

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This Master's thesis explores the impacts of climate change on world security, analyzing the policy responses of the European Union and China to global climate change. The thesis examines the role of soft power in shaping these responses, considering factors such as vulnerability to climate change, economic power, and democratic institutions.

• The relationship between climate change and security
• Comparative analysis of EU and China's policy responses to climate change
• The role of soft power in shaping climate change policy
• The interplay of vulnerability, economic power, and democratic institutions in shaping climate change policy
• The significance of soft power in international climate change governance

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter 1 introduces the research problem and provides a contextual overview of global climate change and its security implications. It discusses the evolution of international climate negotiations from the Rio Earth Summit to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. The chapter also examines the role of the EU and China as key actors in global climate governance, highlighting the significance of soft power in their leadership efforts.
• Chapter 2 presents the research design and methodology. It outlines the research question, defines key variables and operationalization, and proposes a theoretical framework based on existing literature. The chapter also discusses the methodology employed in the comparative analysis of the EU and China.
• Chapter 3 undertakes a comparative analysis of the EU and China's policy responses to climate change. It examines the factors influencing their policies, including their vulnerability to climate change, economic power, and democratic institutions. The chapter explores various dimensions of their responses, such as setting emission reduction targets, offering financial assistance to developing countries, and promoting public awareness about climate change.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The key keywords and focus topics of this work include climate change, global security, policy responses, soft power, EU, China, vulnerability, economic power, democracy, international governance, and comparative analysis.

• Hochschule: Freie Universität Berlin (Otto-Suhr Institute for Political Science (OSI))
• Note: 2,6
• Autor: Sang-Min Han (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2010
• Seiten: 102
• Katalognummer: V385830
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668626362
• ISBN (Buch): 9783668626379
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: impacts, climate, change, world, security, policy, response, global, role, soft, power, china