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
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