Federalism's Fractured Decision Making in the Kyoto Protocol

Studies have examined a variety of domestic factors that might impact foreign policy decision making with regard to international environmental regimes. However, there have been no quantitative studies that examine how federalism affects the ratification process for international environmental treaties. The decentralized decision-making process in federal systems should make federal states less likely and slower to ratify international treaties than unitary states. Using the Kyoto Protocol as a test case, I find that federalism has a negative impact on both the likelihood and speed of ratification. In addition, qualitative evidence suggests that federalism played a significant role in the foreign policy decision-making process of the United States and Australia. For Kyoto, the protracted ratification process was especially important given the treaty mechanisms, the dramatic economic repercussions of possible compliance, and the political factors underlying ratification patterns. Related Articles Ibarraran Viniegra, Maria Eugenia, and Salimah Monica Cossens Gonzalez. 2007. “Climate Change Research and Policy in Mexico: Implications for North American Security.” Politics & Policy 35 (4): 684-701. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00080.x/abstract Below, Amy. 2007. “The Missing Link: Regionalism as a First Step Toward Globalizing U.S. Environmental Security Policy.” Politics & Policy 35 (4): 702-15. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00081.x/abstract Rugeley, Cynthia R., and John David Gerlach. 2012. “Understanding Environmental Public Opinion by Dimension: How Heuristic Processing Mitigates High Information Costs on Complex Issues.” Politics & Policy 40 (3): 444-70. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00352.x/abstract Related Media Mobley, Kayce, and Sarah Fisher. 2015. “A Field Guide to Teaching Agency and Ethics: The West Wing and American Foreign Policy.” Dialogue 2 (1). http://journaldialogue.org/ Sorkin, Aaron. 2000. “The Lame Duck Congress.” The West Wing. Warner Brothers Television. United Nations. 2014. “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Kyoto Protocol.” http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php Existen muchos estudios que han examinado diversos factores domesticos que pudiesen tener un impacto en la toma de decisiones de politica exterior que concierne los tratados medioambientales internacionales. Sin embargo, no se han producido estudios cuantitativos que analicen como el federalismo puede tener un impacto en el proceso de ratificacion de tratados medioambientales internacionales. El descentralizado proceso de toma de decision de los sistemas federales deberia de hacer a los estados federales menos propensos y mas lentos que los estados centralizados para ratificar tratados internacionales. Usando el Protocolo de Kioto como caso de estudio encuentro que el federalismo tiene un impacto negativo en la probabilidad y rapidez de ratificacion. Aunado a esto, evidencia cualitativa sugiere que el federalismo tuvo un papel significativo en el proceso de toma de decisiones de Australia y los Estados Unidos. En el caso del Protocolo de Kioto, el complicado proceso de ratificacion fue de particular importancia debido a las bases del tratado, las repercusiones economicas causadas por el cumplimiento de protocolo, y los factores politicos que afecran los patrones de ratificacion.