Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Early Development of the Small Island Developing States’ Climate Governance: A Disproportionate Impact on UN Climate Negotiations

  • Chapter
Small Island Developing States

Part of the book series: The World of Small States ((WSS,volume 9))

Abstract

The policy significance of climate change was realised by the international community in the 1980s. As some of the countries most affected by climate change, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have influenced the United Nations (UN) climate negotiations from the very beginning. This chapter analyses the climate foreign policy purposes of SIDS and their early impacts on the UN climate governance system. It is argued that, despite their weak material capabilities to shape international affairs, SIDS have made a notable and disproportionate impact on the UN climate negotiations to address their special case. Using constructivist approach to foreign policy analysis, this chapter explains how the ideas about common but differentiated responsibilities promoted in international climate negotiations have shaped SIDS’ climate agenda during pre-and post-UNFCCC negotiations in driving climate governance for them. It is argued that an understanding of this disproportionate impact helps to better understand present and future trends in SIDS climate politics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adler, E. (2012). Constructivism in international relations: Sources, contributions, and debates. In W. Carlsnaes, T. Risse, & B. A. Simmons (Eds.), Handbook of international relations (pp. 95–118). Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aginam, O. (2011). Climate Change Diplomacy and Small Island Developing States. United Nations University Publications. [online] Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://unu.edu/publications/articles/climate-change-diplomacy-and-small-island-developing-states.html

  • Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). (2015). Alliance of Small Island States: 25 Years of Leadership at the United Nations

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashe, J. W., Lierop, R. V., & Ashe, A. C. (1999). The role of the Alliance of Small Island states (AOSIS) in the negotiation of the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). Natural Resources Forum, 23, 209–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barkdull, J., & Harris, P. G. (2009). Theories of environmental foreign policy. In P. G. Harris (Ed.), Environmental change and foreign policy: theory and practice (pp. 19–40). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J., & Campbell, J. (2010). Climate change and small island states: Power, knowledge, and the South Pacific. Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Betzold, C. (2015). Adapting to climate change in small Island developing states. Climatic Change, 133(3), 481–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Betzold, C., Castro, P., & Weiler, F. (2012). AOSIS in the UNFCCC negotiations: from unity to fragmentation? Climate Policy, 12, 591–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, M. L. (2012). The political economy of small states: enduring vulnerability? Review of International Political Economy, 19, 942–960.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blyth, M. (2002). Great transformations: economic ideas and institutional change in the twentieth century. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bodansky, D. (2001). The history of the global climate change regime. In U. Luterbacher & D. F. Sprinz (Eds.), International relations and global climate change (global environmental accord: Strategies for sustainability and institutional innovation) (p. 505). The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C. S. (2006). Small, smart and salient? Rethinking identity in the small states literature. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 19(4), 669–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busse, N. (1999). Constructivism and southeast Asian security. The Pacific Review, 12(1), 39–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsnaes, W. (2008). Actors, structures, and foreign policy analysis. In S. Smith, A. Hadfield, & T. Dunne (Eds.), Foreign policy: theories, actors, cases (p. 113). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chasek, P. S. (2005). Margins of power: coalition building and coalition maintenance of the South Pacific Island states and the Alliance of Small Island states. Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 14(2), 125–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, A., & Maass, M. (2010). Introduction: The foreign policy power of small states. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 23(3), 381–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coghlan, M. (2002). Prospects and pitfalls of the Kyoto protocol to the United Nations framework convention on climate change. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 3, 165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constantini, V., Crescenzi, R., Fillipis, F. D., & Salvatici, L. (2007). Bargaining coalitions in the WTO agricultural negotiations. The World Economy, 30(5), 863–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danilovic, V. (2002). When the stakes are high: deterrence and conflict among major powers. University of Michigan Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, W. J. (1996). The Alliance of Small Island states (AOSIS): the international conscience. Asia–Pacific Magazine, 2, 17–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doty, R. L. (1993). Foreign policy as social construction. International Studies Quarterly, 37(3), 297–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. J. (1990). Small states conference on sea level rise. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 21(1), 4–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elman, M. F. (1995). The foreign policies of small states: challenging neorealism in its own backyard. British Journal of Political Science, 25(2), 171–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flockhart, T. (2016). Constructivism and foreign policy. In S. Smith, A. Hadfield, & T. Dunne (Eds.), Foreign policy: theories, actors, cases (p. 79). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gayoom, A. Y. A. (2015). AOSIS: A history of leadership at UNFCCC

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, J. S. (1965). The concept of ‘system’ in international relations theory. Background, 8(4), 257–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grecequet, M., Noble, I., & Hellmann, J. (2017). Many Small Island Nations Can Adapt to Climate Change with Global Support. The Conversation. [online] Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://theconversation.com/many-small-island-nations-can-adapt-to-climate-change-with-global-support-86820?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%2015%202017%20-%2088027351&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%2015%202017%20-%2088027351+CID_c2f6e6122e4f00fdc3e0e6f1c19716c4&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=Many%20small%20island%20nations%20can%20adapt%20to%20climate%20change%20with%20global%20support

  • Gvalia, G., Siroky, D., Lebanidze, B., & Iashvili, Z. (2013). Thinking outside the bloc: Explaining the foreign policies of small states. Security Studies, 22(1), 98–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hameiri, S., & Jones, L. (2015). Governing borderless threats: Non-traditional security and the politics of state transformation. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, P. G. (2009). Environmental change and foreign policy: Theory and practice. Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hellmann, G., & Wolf, R. (1993). Neorealism, neoliberal institutionalism, and the future of NATO. Security Studies, 3(1), 3–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hey, J. A. K. (2003). Small states in world politics: Explaining foreign policy behavior. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hoad, D. (2015). Reflections on small island states and the international climate change negotiations (COP21, Paris, 2015). Island Studies Journal, 10(2), 259–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopa, J. T. (1989). Vanuatu country statement at the small states conference on sea level rise. Malé.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, D. P. (2007). Reinvigorating the study of foreign policy decision making: Toward a constructivist approach. Foreign Policy Analysis, 3(1), 24–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, A. (1989). Maldives Country Statement. Paper presented at the Small States Conference on Sea Level Rise held in Malé, 14–18 November 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keohane, R. O. (1969). Lilliputians’ dilemmas: Small states in international politics. World Peace Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keohane, R. O. (1984). After hegemony: Cooperation and discord in the political economy. Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keohane, R. O. (1989). International institutions and state power. Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (1977). Power and interdependence: World politics in transition. Little, Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D., & Smith, N. J. (2010). Small state discourses in the international political economy. Third World Quarterly, 31(7), 1091–1105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, A. (2015). What the Paris Climate Agreement Means for Vulnerable Nations. The New Yorker. [online] Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-the-paris-climate-agreement-means-for-vulnerable-nations

  • Maldives Permanent Mission to the UN. (1987). Address by His Excellency Mr Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives, before the Forty Second Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Special Debate on Environment and Development, 19 October 1987. [online] Retrieved December 11, 2020, from http://maldivesmission.com/statements/address_by_his_excellency_mr_maumoon_abdul_gayoom_president_of_the_republic_of_maldives_before_the_forty_second_session_of_the_united_nations_general_assembly_on_the_special_debate_on_environment_and_development_19_october_1987

  • Maldives Permanent Mission to the UN. (2015). Statement by Maldives on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) at the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. 1 December 2015. [online] Retrieved December 11, 2020, from http://maldivesmission.com/statements/statement_by_maldives_on_behalf_of_the_alliance_of_small_island_states_aosis_at_the_meeting_of_the_parties_to_the_kyoto_protocol

  • Mayer, M., & Arndt, F. J. (2009). The politics of socionatures images of environmental foreign policy. In P. G. Harris (Ed.), Environmental change and foreign policy: theory and practice (pp. 94–110). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMahon, V. (1993). Environmental nongovernmental organizations at intergovernmental negotiations. In L. E. Susskind, W. R. Moomaw, & A. Najam (Eds.), Papers on international environmental negotiation (Vol. 3, pp. 1–21). The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNamara, K. E., & Gibson, C. (2009). “We do not want to leave our land”: Pacific ambassadors at the United Nations resist the category of “climate refugees”. Geoforum, 40(3), 475–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, L. (2020). AOSIS Forum Calls for “Year of Ambition” on Climate Action. International Institute for Sustainable Development. [online] Retrieved June 9, 2020, from http://sdg.iisd.org/news/aosis-forum-calls-for-year-of-ambition-on-climate-action/

  • Mol, P. J. (2014). Small island developing states and international climate change negotiations: The power of moral “leadership”. International Environmental Agreements, 14, 281–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, D., Tirpak, D., Drexhage, J., & Gagnon-Lebrun, F. (2009). Encouraging Developing Country Participation in a Future Climate Change Regime by International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). [online] Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_country_participation_in_climate.pdf

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2015). Small island developing states (SIDS) and the post-2015 development finance agenda. [online] Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/Addis%20Flyer%20SIDS%20FINAL.pdf

  • Ourbak, T., & Magnan, A. K. (2017). The Paris agreement and climate change negotiations: small islands, big players. Regional Environmental Change, 18(1), 2201–2207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panke, D. (2012). Small states in multilateral negotiations. What have we learned? Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 25(3), 387–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parry, M., Canziani, O., Palutikof, J., Linden, V. D. P., & Hanson, C. (Eds.). (2007). Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability [internet]. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paterson, M. (1996). Global warming and global politics. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paterson, M. (2001). Principles of Justice in the context of global climate change. In U. Uterbacher & D. F. Sprinz (Eds.), International relations and global climate change (global environmental accord: Strategies for sustainability and institutional innovation) (pp. 119–126). The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasheed, A. A. (2019). Role of small islands in UN climate negotiations: A constructivist viewpoint. International Studies, 56(4), 215–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasheed, A.A. (2020) Climate Ideas as Drivers of Pacific Islands’ Regional Politics and Cooperation. E-International Relations. [online] Retrieved June 9, 2020, from https://www.e-ir.info/2020/01/15/climate-ideas-as-drivers-of-pacific-islands-regional-politics-and-cooperation/

  • Rowlands, I. H. (2001). Classical theories of international relations. In U. Luterbacher & D. F. Sprinz (Eds.), International relations and global climate change (global environmental accord: Strategies for sustainability and institutional innovation) (pp. 43–64). The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadat, N. (2009). Small Islands, Rising Seas. UN Chronicles. [online] Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://unchronicle.un.org/article/small-islands-rising-seas

  • Simpson, A. W. (2006). Small states in world politics. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 19(4), 649–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. (2001). Foreign policy is what states make of it. In V. Kubalkova (Ed.), Foreign policy in a constructed world (pp. 38–55). M. S. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S., Hadfield, A., & Dunne, T. (2012). Foreign policy: Theories, actors, cases. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starkey, B., Boyer, M. A., & Wilkenfeld, J. (2008). Negotiating a complex world: An introduction to international negotiation. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, C. D. (2004). Common but differentiated responsibilities in international law. The American Journal of International Law, 98(2), 276–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telbami, S. (2002). Kenneth Waltz, neorealism, and foreign policy. Security Studies, 11(3), 158–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, A. (2020). Coronavirus crisis underscores small Islands’ climate vulnerability. Climate Home News. [online] Retrieved June 9, 2020, from https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/04/17/coronavirus-crisis-underscores-small-islands-climate-vulnerability/

  • Thomas, A., Baptiste, A., Martyr-Koller, R., Pringle, P., & Rhiney, K. (2020). Climate change and small island developing states. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 45(6), 1–127. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-083355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Underdal, A. (2017). Climate change and international relations (after Kyoto). Annual Review of Political Science, 20(1), 169–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (UN). (1994). Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. [online] Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/conferences/bpoa1994

  • United Nations (UN). (2018). Small Island Developing States. [online] Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sids/list

  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (1989). Male declaration on global warming and sea level rise. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0009/000977/097720eb.pdf

  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2005). Climate change, small island developing States. [online] Retrieved November 1, 2018, from http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/cc_sids.pdf

  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2015a). Paris Agreement. [online] Retrieved November 2, 2017, from

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2015b). Statement delivered by the Maldives on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States at the Closing SBSTA Plenary in Paris. [online] Retrieved November 2, 2017, from http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/Lists/OSPSubmissionUpload/53_152_130937948115158180-AOSIS%20closing%20statement%20SBSTA%2043.pdf

  • United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). (1994). Report of the Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. UNGA Resolution A/CONF.167/. [online] Retrieved November 2, 2017, from http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_sids/sids_pdfs/BPOA.pdf

  • United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). (2011). Small island developing states: Small island big(ger) stake. Report. New York: UN-OHRLLS. Retrieved from http://unohrlls.org/custom-content/uploads/2013/08/SIDS-Small-Islands-Bigger-Stakes.pdf

  • Voccia, A. (2012). Climate change: What future for small, vulnerable states? International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 19(2), 101–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walt, S. M. (1987). The origins of alliances. Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waltz, K. N. (1979). Theory of international politics. Addison-Wesley Pub Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is what states make of it: The social construction of power politics. International Organization, 46(2), 391–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wendt, A. (1999). Social theory of international politics. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wicaksana, I. G. W. (2009). The constructivist approach towards foreign policy analysis. Indonesian Journal of Social Sciences, 1(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Widmaier, W. W. (2005). The democratic peace is what states make of it: a constructivist analysis of the US-Indian ‘near-miss’ in the 1971 South Asian crisis. European Journal of International Relations, 11(3), 431–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widmaier, W. W. (2007). Constructing foreign policy crises: Interpretive leadership in the cold war and war on terrorism. International Studies Quarterly, 51(4), 779–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiegandt, E. (2001). Climate change, equity, and international negotiations. In U. Luterbacher & D. F. Sprinz (Eds.), International relations and global climate change (global environmental accord: Strategies for sustainability and institutional innovation) (pp. 128–159). The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Athaulla A. Rasheed

Authors
  1. Athaulla A. Rasheed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Athaulla A. Rasheed .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Islands and Small States Institute, Institute for European Studies, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

    Stefano Moncada

  2. Islands and Small States Institute, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

    Lino Briguglio

  3. Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Hilary Bambrick

  4. Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction and Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK

    Ilan Kelman

  5. University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Ilan Kelman

  6. Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Catherine Iorns

  7. CERMES, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados

    Leonard Nurse

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Rasheed, A.A. (2021). The Early Development of the Small Island Developing States’ Climate Governance: A Disproportionate Impact on UN Climate Negotiations. In: Moncada, S., Briguglio, L., Bambrick, H., Kelman, I., Iorns, C., Nurse, L. (eds) Small Island Developing States. The World of Small States, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82774-8_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation