Epistemic Communities, Constructivism, and International Environmental Politics

Epistemic Communities, Constructivism and International Environmental Politics brings together 25 years of publications by Peter M. Haas. The book examines how the world has changed significantly over the last 100 years, discusses the need for new, constructivist scholarship to understand the dynamics of world politics, and highlights the role played by transnational networks of professional experts in global governance. Combining an intellectual history of epistemic communities with theoretical arguments and empirical studies of global environmental conferences, as well as international organizations and comparative studies of international environmental regimes, this book presents a broad picture of social learning on the global scale.

In addition to detailing the changes in the international system since the Industrial Revolution, Haas discusses the technical nature of global environmental threats. Providing a critical reading of discourses about environmental security, this book explores governance efforts to deal with global climate change, international pollution control, stratospheric ozone, and European acid rain. With a new general introduction and the addition of introductory pieces for each section, this collection offers a retrospective overview of the author's work and is essential reading for students and scholars of environmental politics, international relations and global politics.

Preface 1. Introduction "ReConstructing Epistemic Communities" Part I: Ontology & Historical Background 2. Transnational Flows and the Transformation of International Relations 3. The Capacity of International Institutions to Manage Bhopal-like Problems 4. Introduction: Epistemic Communities and International Policy Coordination 5. Constructing Environmental Security from Resource Scarcity Part II: Regimes and Governance Patterns 6. Social Constructivism and the Evolution of Multilateral Environmental Governance 7. Prospects for Effective Marine Governance in the NW Pacific Region and "Letter to the Editor" 8. Epistemic Communities and International Environmental Law Part III: Institutions and Learning 9. UN Conferences and Constructivist Governance of the Environment 10. International Institutions and Social Learning in the Management of Global Environmental Risk 11. Addressing the Global Governance Deficit 12. Learning to Learn Part IV: Effectiveness 13. Choosing to Comply 14. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Marine Governance V: Science Policy 15. When Does Power Listen to Truth? A Constructivist Approach to the Policy Process 16. Organized Science, Usable Knowledge, and Multilateral Environmental Governance Part VI: Conclusion 17. Promoting Knowledge Based International Governance for Sustainable Development 18. The Global Spreading of Ideas