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Regime interplay in Arctic shipping governance: explaining regional niche selection

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  • Olav Stokke

Abstract

Distinctive institutional features can make a regime particularly suited for conducting one or more generic tasks of governance: building knowledge, strengthening norms, enhancing problem-solving capacity, or enforcing rule compliance. Each of those governance tasks constitutes a potential “niche” that a regime can specialize in within a larger institutional complex. Applying this niche-oriented approach to the case of Arctic marine transport helps to explain the emerging division of labor between regional and global institutions in an issue area marked by rapid change. Drawing on earlier regime-effectiveness research, the article examines the potential of regional institutions, especially the Arctic Council, to contribute to strengthening the international governance system for shipping, based on the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). Although the Arctic Council is not well positioned to regulate regional shipping activities, it may facilitate regulatory advances in the IMO, in part by knowledge-building and in part by helping Arctic states to find common ground on matters of controversy. The Council is also well equipped to enhance regional maritime infrastructure, like capacities for responding to oil spills, and search and rescue operations. Should binding region-specific international rules on Arctic shipping be adopted, Arctic institutions could play a role in coordinating port-state enforcement measures—but existing institutions with broader participation are better suited and will probably remain dominant. The larger question of achieving cross-institutional interplay that can promote effectiveness is relevant in any region or issue area, because efforts to solve specific problems usually involve more than one institution. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

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  • Olav Stokke, 2013. "Regime interplay in Arctic shipping governance: explaining regional niche selection," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 65-85, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:13:y:2013:i:1:p:65-85
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-012-9202-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Tom Barry & Brynhildur Daviðsdóttir & Níels Einarsson & Oran R. Young, 2020. "How Does the Arctic Council Support Conservation of Arctic Biodiversity?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Corine Wood-Donnelly, 2023. "Evaluating normative capacity through Arctic environmental governance," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(9), pages 1-16, September.
    7. Caleb Gallemore, 2017. "Transaction costs in the evolution of transnational polycentric governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 639-654, October.
    8. Joshua Philipp Elsässer & Thomas Hickmann & Sikina Jinnah & Sebastian Oberthür & Thijs Graaf, 2022. "Institutional interplay in global environmental governance: lessons learned and future research," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 373-391, June.
    9. 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.

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