The Social Bases of Environmental Treaty Ratification, 1900-1990

Most accounts of environmental treaty ratification emphasize the boundedness of states, characterizing ratification as a calculated “choice” of interested, rational actors. Here I present an alternative to this view, depicting nation‐states as constructed of globally legitimated models, including th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological inquiry 1999-10, Vol.69 (4), p.523-550
Main Author: Frank, David John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
1900-1990
Crosscultural Differences
Crossnational Differences
Environmental Attitudes
Environmental Policy
Environmental problems
Environmental Protection
Environmental regulations
Environmentalism
Globalization
Human ecology and demography
Individual Collective Relationship
International Cooperation
International environmental charters
International Relations
Ratification
Social policy
Sociological aspects
Sociology
State
Treaties
Treaty (1900-90)
Twentieth Century
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Summary:Most accounts of environmental treaty ratification emphasize the boundedness of states, characterizing ratification as a calculated “choice” of interested, rational actors. Here I present an alternative to this view, depicting nation‐states as constructed of globally legitimated models, including those seen to promote environmental protection. Countries with dense connections to world society are most likely to embody global models of nation‐state environmentalization, regardless of measures of national interests, such as natural degradation, economic development, scientific capacity, or political openness. I test the alternative views in a series of structural equation models with latent variables, analyzing cross‐national variation in the number of international environmental treaties ratified during the periods 1900‐1945, 1946‐1962, 1963‐1972, and 1973‐1990. In every analysis a nation‐state's linkage to world society is the strongest predictor of its number of ratifications. The results lend support to the notion that nation‐states are constituted within a wider world social system, in which environmental protection forms a central and highly legitimate node of discourse and activity.
ISSN:0038-0245
1475-682X
DOI:10.1111/j.1475-682X.1999.tb00885.x