Setzer, Joana
(2013)
Environmental paradiplomacy: the engagement of the Brazilian state of São Paulo in international environmental relations.
PhD thesis, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Abstract
This study analyses the international environmental relations undertaken by
subnational governments, a phenomenon conceptualised as environmental
paradiplomacy. Research on paradiplomacy examines subnational governments’
international relations without considering their engagement with environmental
issues, while multilevel governance (MLG) theory focuses on the rescaling of
governance of environmental problems without addressing subnational engagement in
international relations. Combining paradiplomacy studies and MLG theory, the thesis
develops an original conceptual framework to investigate a leading example of
environmental paradiplomacy.
The conceptual framework is applied to the case of the state of São Paulo, a regional
government in Brazil that, since the 1970s, has strongly engaged in international
environmental activities. In contrast with other findings on paradiplomacy, the state of
São Paulo engages in international relations not only as a way of challenging, but also of
collaborating with the national government. The major empirical data informing the
thesis was gathered through participant observation and semi-structured interviews
with key figures involved with environmental governance in the state and at the
national level, as well as representatives from NGOs, universities, the private sector and
foreign policy-makers.
The study furthers the understanding of paradiplomacy offering analytical insight into:
(1) how subnational governments engage in transnational relations; (2) the reasons
driving them to undertake paradiplomacy; and (3) the outcomes of their actions. It also
contributes more generally to research on global environmental governance, offering
new theoretical insights on the roles of subnational governments and the changing
relationships between different levels of government in national and international
policymaking.
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