European Policy Analysis Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2016 | Page 20

European Policy Analysis - Volume 2, Number 1 - Spring 2016 Two Levels, Two Strategies: Explaining the Gap Between Swiss National and International Responses Toward Climate Change Karin IngoldA & Géraldine PfliegerB In a complex and multilevel regime, countries’ national and international strategies to address climate change may considerably differ. Adopting an actor-centered approach, the aim of this article is to outline and understand the potential difference between a nation’s domestic climate policy and its position in the international climate regime. We adopt social network analysis focusing on actors’ identification, their relational profiles, interests, and resources. Through survey data and content analysis, we focus on those actors’ positions within Swiss national and foreign climate policy. Results show that it is crucial to identify actors that participate in both the national and foreign policymaking. But participation on two levels seems to be a necessary but not sufficient condition. Actors should play a central role in both processes, and defend similar policy interests on the two levels, in order for them to be able to coordinate actions and produce coherent outputs in overlapping subsystems. Keywords: Multilevel governance; policy output; climate change; social network analysis; Switzerland; two-level game Introduction Following Putnam (1988), domestic politics and international n a complex and multilevel regime, relations are often entangled and two countries’ national and international policymaking processes may mutually strategies to address climate change influence each other. An important role may considerably differ. Adopting an is played by national actors who are also actor-centered approach, the aim of this involved in foreign policymaking and article is to outline and understand the thus suffer from double accountability: potential difference between a nation’s to their constituencies and to their peers, domestic climate policy and its position with the potential to shape or coordinate policy outcomes on both a national in the international climate regime. I A University of Bern, Institute of Political Science and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland. Eawag, Department of Environmental Social Sciences, Dübendorf, Switzerland B University of Geneva, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Av. Du Pontd’Arve 40, 1204 Genève, Switzerland University of Geneva, Institute of Environmental Science, Geneva, Switzerland doi: 10.18278/epa.2.1.4 20