IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ieaple/v23y2023i4d10.1007_s10784-023-09600-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Beyond intergovernmental cooperation: domestic politics of transboundary air pollution in Korea and Singapore

Author

Listed:
  • Annie Young Song

    (Yonsei University Mirae Campus)

Abstract

This study explores why the implementation of domestic environmental policies that tackle transboundary air pollution has been undermined by comparing the cases of the Republic of Korea (Korea) and Singapore. Heavy smog recurs in Korea and Singapore every year despite various attempts to reduce air pollution through the signing of environmental cooperation agreements and the introduction of domestic measures. While existing scholarship has examined intergovernmental cooperation aimed at mitigating transboundary air pollution, this study focuses on domestic factors affecting policy implementation processes at the national level. How do domestic factors shape governmental policy actions within environmental cooperation agreements in the cases of Korea and Singapore? I employed a process-tracing method to analyze the entanglement of domestic stakeholders from the late 1990s to 2019. By drawing upon domestic politics theory, I find that domestic dynamics, intricately linked to other stakeholders, have limited the effectiveness of policies implemented to address poor air quality. This finding suggests that domestic politics play a critical role in establishing effective regional environmental cooperation in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Annie Young Song, 2023. "Beyond intergovernmental cooperation: domestic politics of transboundary air pollution in Korea and Singapore," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 397-413, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:23:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10784-023-09600-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-023-09600-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10784-023-09600-2
    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/s10784-023-09600-2?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. Wonhyuk LIM, 2012. "Chaebol and Industrial Policy in Korea," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 7(1), pages 69-86, June.
    2. Narayan Sastry, 2002. "Forest fires, air pollution, and mortality in Southeast Asia," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 39(1), pages 1-23, February.
    3. Jon Hovi & Detlef F. Sprinz & Arild Underdal, 2009. "Implementing Long-Term Climate Policy: Time Inconsistency, Domestic Politics, International Anarchy," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 9(3), pages 20-39, August.
    4. Helena Varkkey, 2014. "Regional cooperation, patronage and the ASEAN Agreement on transboundary haze pollution," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 65-81, March.
    5. Masaru Yarime & Aitong Li, 2018. "Facilitating International Cooperation on Air Pollution in East Asia: Fragmentation of the Epistemic Communities," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 9(S3), pages 35-41, November.
    6. Putnam, Robert D., 1988. "Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level games," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 427-460, July.
    7. Inkyoung Kim, 2014. "Messages from a middle power: participation by the Republic of Korea in regional environmental cooperation on transboundary air pollution issues," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 147-162, May.
    8. Moravcsik, Andrew, 1997. "Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(4), pages 513-553, October.
    9. Forsyth, Tim, 2014. "Public concerns about transboundary haze: a comparison of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 56043, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Andrew Cheon & Johannes Urpelainen, 2013. "How do Competing Interest Groups Influence Environmental Policy? The Case of Renewable Electricity in Industrialized Democracies, 1989–2007," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 61(4), pages 874-897, December.
    11. Sprinz, Detlef & Vaahtoranta, Tapani, 1994. "The interest-based explanation of international environmental policy," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(1), pages 77-105, January.
    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. Taedong Lee & Wooyeal Paik, 2020. "Asymmetric barriers in atmospheric politics of transboundary air pollution: a case of particulate matter (PM) cooperation between China and South Korea," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 123-140, March.
    2. Vaclav Vlcek, 2023. "Who cares about the UN General Assembly? National delegations size from 1993 to 2016," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(2), pages 349-360, May.
    3. Jeffry Frieden & Stefanie Walter, 2019. "Analyzing inter-state negotiations in the Eurozone crisis and beyond," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(1), pages 134-151, March.
    4. Rong, Fang, 2010. "Understanding developing country stances on post-2012 climate change negotiations: Comparative analysis of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4582-4591, August.
    5. Shijin Wang & Guirong Ji & Zhaolian Hu & Fangdao Qiu, 2022. "Research on the Spatial Correlation of China’s Haze Pollution and the Government’s Cooperative Governance Competitive Strategy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Alasdair R. Young, 2001. "Extending European Cooperation: The European Union and the 'New' International Trade Agenda," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 12, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    7. Remi Maier-Rigaud, 2008. "International Organizations as Corporate Actors: Agency and Emergence in Theories of International Relations," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2008_07, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    8. Dumas, Marion & Rising, James & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2016. "Political competition and renewable energy transitions over long time horizons: A dynamic approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 175-184.
    9. ., 2013. "The dynamics of global governance," Chapters, in: The Dynamics of Global Economic Governance, chapter 2, pages 38-59, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Betz, Joachim & Hanif, Melanie, 2010. "The Formation of Preferences in Two-level Games: An Analysis of India's Domestic and Foreign Energy Policy," GIGA Working Papers 142, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    11. Stephen, Matthew D. & Parízek, Michal, 2019. "New Powers and the Distribution of Preferences in Global Trade Governance: From Deadlock and Drift to Fragmentation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 24(6), pages 735-758.
    12. Lawrence Rothenberg, 2012. "The Political Economy of Climate Change," Chapters, in: Chin Hee Hahn & Sang-Hyop Lee & Kyoung-Soo Yoon (ed.), Responding to Climate Change, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Coban, Mehmet Kerem, 2019. "Compliance forces, domestic policy process, and international regulatory standards: Compliance with Basel III," OSF Preprints x32nw, Center for Open Science.
    14. Christopher R. Dittmeier, 2013. "Proliferation, preemption, and intervention in the nuclearization of second-tier states," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 25(4), pages 492-525, October.
    15. Toke S. Aidt & Facundo Albornoz & Esther Hauk, 2021. "Foreign Influence and Domestic Policy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 426-487, June.
    16. Federica Genovese & Richard J. McAlexander & Johannes Urpelainen, 2023. "Institutional roots of international alliances: Party groupings and position similarity at global climate negotiations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 329-359, April.
    17. Todd A. Eisenstadt & Daniel J. Fiorino & Daniela Stevens, 2019. "National environmental policies as shelter from the storm: specifying the relationship between extreme weather vulnerability and national environmental performance," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 9(1), pages 96-107, March.
    18. M. H. Austgulen, 2020. "Understanding National Preferences in EU Consumer Policy: A Regime Approach," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 767-798, December.
    19. Joel Carbonell & Juliann Allison, 2015. "Democracy and state environmental commitment to international environmental treaties," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 79-104, May.
    20. Agnes Katalin Koos & Kenneth Keulman, 2019. "Methodological Nationalism in Global Studies and Beyond," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.

    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:23:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10784-023-09600-2. 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.