Credibility of Issue Linkage: How Treaty Recognition Unites Firms and Activists in Promoting Trade Liberalization
Why does issue linkage gain support from some domestic groups, not others? Al- though governments have long used economic tools to promote environmental and climate goals internationally, we know relatively little about when such linkage gains support or elicits backlash from environmental activists. Based on the premise that ac- tivists face severe commitment problems during linkage processes, I argue that activists’ positions on linkage vary by their ties to intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Focusing on the US’s trade-environmental linkage, I theorize that IGO ties tend to mitigate the commitment problem and facili- tate cooperation by providing compliance information useful for enforcement, whereas NGO ties incentivize activists to increase the stake of their demands due to loyalty considerations. Quantitative analyses of new data on environmental NGO positions on US trade agreements, along with archival evidence and case studies of two NGOs, support the theory. This paper shows that domestic groups’ external ties to other non-state actors play different roles in shaping of successful cooperation in a complex international system.
Date: 14 November 2024, 12:30 (Thursday, 5th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room A
Speaker: Boram Lee (LSE)
Organising department: Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR)
Organiser: Rachel Roberts (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: rachel.roberts@politics.ox.ac.uk
Part of: IR Research Colloquium
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editors: Daniel Burton, Rachel Roberts