Governing the Air: The Dynamics of Science, Policy, and Citizen Interaction

Chapter 3. Institutional Linkages and European Air Pollution Politics

3 Institutional Linkages and European Air Pollution Politics Henrik Selin and Stacy D. VanDeveer Much contemporary air pollution politics and policymaking occur in institutionally dense settings involving a large set of actors interacting in complex webs of connections. Scholars and policymakers are paying a great deal of attention to characteristics and consequences of linkages among the growing number of international institutions associated with environmental politics and management (Young 2002; Raustiala and Victor 2004; Oberthür and Gehring 2006; Chambers 2008; Young, King, and Schroeder 2008; Selin 2010). As the quantity and scale of human activities with significant transnational environmental effects and the number and scope of international institutions that address environmental issues continue to grow, the structures and agents associated with these institutions increasingly intersect. As such, linkage politics—the strategic use of linkages—is of growing importance in environmental regime formation and implementation. Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than in Europe, where a host of regional and domestic environmental institutions have proliferated among states and other actors actively engaged in institution-building efforts at the global level. Institutional linkages are not only theoretically interesting, but also empirically researchable with respect to causal pathways of influence on policymaking and implementation across separate policy venues. We offer an analytical framework for studying characteristics and effects of institutional linkages on environmental governance (Selin and VanDeveer 2003). This institutionally focused framework is agnostic with respect to the relative utility and explanatory power of different larger theories, including rational choice and constructivist informed analysis. For example, using our analytical framework to study linkage politics, participants in regime development may be seen to act strategically to exploit institutional linkages in pursuit of their defined interests and preferences, or linkages may be seen to serve as vehicles for creating and 62 Henrik Selin and Stacy D. VanDeveer diffusing norms, ideas, and knowledge across institutions. As such, the linkage research outlined here exemplifies the contemporary convergence of theoretical approaches to the study of international environmental governance outlined in chapter 1, engaging aspects of institutional approaches, network analysis, and co-productionist dynamics. European air pollution politics around sulfur, nitrogen, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ground-level ozone demonstrates the complexity of institutional linkages (Zito 2000; Wettestad 2002; Selin and VanDeveer 2003; VanDeveer 2005; Tuinstra 2008). The two primary multilateral institutions for European air pollution cooperation and regulation are the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) and the European Union (EU). This chapter applies the analytical framework first presented in Selin and VanDeveer 2003 to map governance and actor linkages in European air policy and to assess their implications for policymaking and implementation. It argues that many aspects of European air policy cannot be properly understood without taking CLRTAP–EU linkages into consideration. The chapter pays particular attention to linkages related to the geographical scope, membership , and regulatory authority of CLRTAP and the EU. Analyzing Institutional Linkages Institutional linkages affect both decision-making processes across policy forums and the effectiveness of related policy instruments. The analytical framework for empirically studying institutional linkages that we offer in Selin and VanDeveer 2003 distinguishes between governance and actor linkages. Figure 3.1 illustrates this framework, using CLRTAP and EU air policy as an example. This section uses the analytical framework to highlight major arguments and insights from related scholarly work on institutional linkages. We subsequently apply this framework to map and discuss important governance and actor linkages in European air pollution politics. With attention to the co-production of knowledge and social order in scientific, technical, and political spheres, our framework can be situated among the converging approaches discussed in chapter 1. Governance Linkages Consistent with other scholarly work under the broad umbrella of the “new intuitionalism” literature spanning a range of social science disciplines , the term governance linkages refers to structural connections between immaterial components of particular international institutions Institutional Linkages and European Air Pollution Politics 63 where institutions are interrelated sets of rules and practices that prescribe behavior, constrain activity, and shape expectations (Keohane 1989; Selin 2010). In this respect, institutions are not actors (e.g., they do not possess “agency” as generally understood) (Young, King, and Schroeder 2008). Institutions do not possess an independent capacity to act. However, they do shape actors’ actions, understandings, and choices. Where institutional linkages exist, rules and activities associated with one institution exert influence on the development and performance of another institution or its participating agents or both. Institutional governance...