IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ieaple/v18y2018i3d10.1007_s10784-018-9385-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental regime effectiveness and the North American Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Author

Listed:
  • Carolyn Johns

    (Ryerson University)

  • Adam Thorn

    (Ryerson University)

  • Debora VanNijnatten

    (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners around the globe are grappling with how to improve the effectiveness of complex, transboundary, and multilevel environmental regimes. International environmental agreements (IEAs) have been around for decades yet achievements and outcomes have not met expectations. While international relations scholars have primarily focused on the effectiveness of agreements between states, public policy scholars have been interested in outcomes at a variety of scales including international, national, sub-national, and local across various environmental policy domains and at the instrument and program levels. This article presents findings from a case study of environmental regime effectiveness that uses a modified version of the Oslo-Postdam solution to assess the effectiveness of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, a long-standing, bilateral international environmental agreement between Canada and the USA. The findings indicate that there is a need to more broadly define international environmental agreements in complex transboundary systems to include both formal and informal regime features and multilevel governance efforts and to focus on specific policy goals and ecological outcomes associated with IEAs. This case also illustrates the potential to modify the Oslo-Postdam approach by combining expert assessment and data collection methods with traditional policy analysis and program evaluation methods in assessments of environmental regime effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolyn Johns & Adam Thorn & Debora VanNijnatten, 2018. "Environmental regime effectiveness and the North American Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 315-333, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:18:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s10784-018-9385-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-018-9385-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10784-018-9385-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10784-018-9385-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sprinz, Detlef F. & Helm, Carsten, 1999. "The Effect of Global Environmental Regimes: A Measurement Concept," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 33635, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    2. Oran R. Young & Michael Zürn, 2006. "The International Regimes Database: Designing and Using a Sophisticated Tool for Institutional Analysis," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 6(3), pages 121-143, August.
    3. Oran R. Young, 2003. "Determining Regime Effectiveness: A Commentary on the Oslo-Potsdam Solution," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 3(3), pages 97-104, August.
    4. Guri Bang, 2011. "Signed but Not Ratified: Limits to U.S. Participation in International Environmental Agreements," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 28(1), pages 65-81, January.
    5. Ronald B. Mitchell, 2006. "Problem Structure, Institutional Design, and the Relative Effectiveness of International Environmental Agreements," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 6(3), pages 72-89, August.
    6. Carsten Helm & Detlef Sprinz, 2000. "Measuring the Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 44(5), pages 630-652, October.
    7. Oran R. Young, 2001. "Inferences and Indices: Evaluating the Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 99-121, February.
    8. Jon Hovi & Detlef F. Sprinz & Arild Underdal, 2003. "The Oslo-Potsdam Solution to Measuring Regime Effectiveness: Critique, Response, and the Road Ahead," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 3(3), pages 74-96, August.
    9. Frank Grundig, 2012. "Dealing with the temporal domain of regime effectiveness: A further conceptual development of the Oslo-Potsdam solution," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 111-127, May.
    10. Ronald Mitchell, 2013. "Oran Young and international institutions," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, March.
    11. Guri Bang & Jon Hovi & Detlef F. Sprinz, 2012. "US presidents and the failure to ratify multilateral environmental agreements," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 755-763, November.
    12. Frantzi, Sofia, 2008. "What determines the institutional performance of environmental regimes?: A case study of the Mediterranean Action Plan," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 618-629, July.
    13. Oran Young, 2013. "Sugaring off: enduring insights from long-term research on environmental governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 87-105, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tobias Böhmelt & Jürg Vollenweider, 2015. "Information flows and social capital through linkages: the effectiveness of the CLRTAP network," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 105-123, May.
    2. Jürg Vollenweider, 2013. "The effectiveness of international environmental agreements," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 343-367, September.
    3. Ronald Mitchell, 2013. "Oran Young and international institutions," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Arild Underdal, 2013. "Meeting common environmental challenges: the co-evolution of policies and practices," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 15-30, March.
    5. Maximilian S. T. Wanner, 0. "The effectiveness of soft law in international environmental regimes: participation and compliance in the Hyogo Framework for Action," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    6. Maximilian S. T. Wanner, 2021. "The effectiveness of soft law in international environmental regimes: participation and compliance in the Hyogo Framework for Action," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 113-132, March.
    7. Andreas Kokkvoll Tveit, 2018. "Can the management school explain noncompliance with international environmental agreements?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 491-512, August.
    8. Tamar Gutner & Alexander Thompson, 2010. "The politics of IO performance: A framework," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 227-248, September.
    9. Sander, Michael, 2013. "Conceptual proposals for measuring the impact of international regimes on energy security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 449-457.
    10. Lindstad, Berit H. & Solberg, Birger, 2010. "Challenges in determining national effects of international policy processes: Forest protection in Norway as a case," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(7), pages 489-496, September.
    11. Frank Grundig, 2012. "Dealing with the temporal domain of regime effectiveness: A further conceptual development of the Oslo-Potsdam solution," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 111-127, May.
    12. Clara Brandi & Dominique Blümer & Jean-Frédéric Morin, 2019. "When Do International Treaties Matter for Domestic EnvironmentalLegislation?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(4), pages 14-44, November.
    13. Chenaz B. Seelarbokus, 2014. "Assessing the Effectiveness of International Environmental Agreements (IEAs)," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(1), pages 21582440145, February.
    14. Frank Biermann, 2002. "Strengthening Green Global Governance in a Disparate World SocietyWould a World Environment Organisation Benefit the South?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 297-315, December.
    15. Tobias Böhmelt & Carola Betzold, 2013. "The impact of environmental interest groups in international negotiations: Do ENGOs induce stronger environmental commitments?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 127-151, May.
    16. Arild Underdal, 2012. "Strategies in international regime negotiations: reflecting background conditions or shaping outcomes?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 129-144, May.
    17. Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Walid Oueslati, 2018. "Do deep and comprehensive regional trade agreements help in reducing air pollution?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 743-777, December.
    18. RonaldB. Mitchell & LilianaB. Andonova & Mark Axelrod & Jörg Balsiger & Thomas Bernauer & JessicaF. Green & James Hollway & RakhyunE. Kim & Jean-Frédéric Morin, 2020. "What We Know (and Could Know) About International EnvironmentalAgreements," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(1), pages 103-121, February.
    19. Frank Biermann, 2002. "Strengthening Green Global Governance in a Disparate World SocietyWould a World Environment Organisation Benefit the South?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 297-315, December.
    20. Pradip Kumar Sarker & Md Saifur Rahman & Lukas Giessen, 2019. "Regional economic regimes and the environment: stronger institutional design is weakening environmental policy capacity of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 19-52, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:18:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s10784-018-9385-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.