Sustainable Development, Regional Governance, and International Organizations

“This volume is essential reading on how authoritarianism shapes environmental politics through regional governance organizations. The chapters are especially valuable for insights on climate governance in post-communist states – some EU members, and some not – and the influence of major non-democracies like Russia and China. Together these authors set out an important path for future research, showing how variation in domestic regime type may enable or constrain multilateral efforts to address environmental challenges.” Laura A. Henry, Bowdoin College, USA “This book provides innovative and much-needed analysis of the roles of authoritarian regional organizations (RO) and democratic regional environmental governance in the post-Communist region. Until now, we have known far too little about the roles of non-democratic ROs in many policy areas, including environmental issues. The authors collectively provide insight into the reasons why autocratic regimes and non-democratic ROs engage with environmental policy areas, finding that reputational concerns and mimicry outweigh sometimes effective policy action. On the hopeful side, the contributors find that civil society groups in the region benefit from resources and information provided by EU environmental bodies, and some post-Communist states learn from the information and strategies gained through participation in global climate forums.” Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom, The University of British Columbia, Canada “This book provides a comprehensive examination of the impact of regional international organizations on sustainable development and environmental agendas. Theoretically grounded, it explores both democratic and autocratic environmental regionalism, linking previously separate areas of study to shed new light on the complexities of global environmental politics in a post-communist world.” Jeronim Perović, The University of Zurich, Switzerland “This book highlights, among other issues, the important role played by non-Western states in countering climate change and environmental degradation. The chapters show the path toward environmental governance through regional NGOs and global efforts to improve environmental outcomes through policy actions aimed at sustainable development. The authors provide a model of engagement with academic literature in the service of positive policy outcomes.” Dmitry Gorenburg, Harvard University, USA