Sovereignty And Environment Challenges

1031 Words5 Pages
How does the sovereign state system help or hinder solutions to global environmental problems? In the face of globalization, the nation-state and traditional “realist” notions of sovereignty are under threat as never before. The multiple loci of power outside the state including NGO’s , corporations, transnational actors such as al Qaeda and even individuals; are all actors that affect the modern IR system that state-centric theories of power struggle to explain. The problems that threaten the Global Commons are, indeed, a major challenge to the nation-state, requiring states to evolve and modify their interactions to effectively combat a damaged bio-sphere and changing climate. State sovereignty will remain a major (positive) force capable of combating environmental problems because of their ability to form effective multi-lateral institutions and due to their clout in countering the power of the corporation; the actor that causes much of the environmental damage. In short, the state will form a major part of the solution to global climate change (GCC) but will only do so by evolving what their sovereignty entails because the sovereign system has proven ineffective in protecting the Earth thus far. Sovereignty is the curse and the cure! The many transnational challenges of globalization whether product piracy, pandemics or global climate change; are all new threats to states and their citizens that traditional security tools can’t adequately address. These transnational problems will require supra-national responses and international co-operation like never before but will also require strong sovereign states to counter these `non-state actors’ that damage these “collective goods” such as the environment. GCC and GHG emissions threaten the North and South alike, making it a useful focus of this examination of the role of sovereignty in helping or

More about Sovereignty And Environment Challenges

Open Document