The United Nations in 2015 adopted the Paris agreement. This agreement called on actors (i.e. national governments, international organisations, regional organisations, businesses, and local...Show moreThe United Nations in 2015 adopted the Paris agreement. This agreement called on actors (i.e. national governments, international organisations, regional organisations, businesses, and local governments or municipalities (cities, towns and villages)) to take collective action in the fight against climate change. However, collective action at the national, international, and regional levels has proven difficult. Because countries leaders cannot come to an agreement on how to go about solving the climate issue. In contrast, local governments or municipalities have proven to be valuable actor in the fight against climate change through collective action within their own territories and between municipalities. The Finnish town of Ii has proven to be very valuable in the fight against climate change. The town has reduced its CO2 emissions by 80%. Using the personal-interest theory and latent content analysis, I explored the personal interests factors that contributed to Ii’s decision to act collectively in order to take climate action. The findings showed that economic incentives, social incentives, and proenvironmental concerns were the driving personal interests that contributed to Ii collectively taking climate action.Show less
The study of the successful negotiation of Global Public Goods (GPGs) can enlighten scholars across political economy, political science, public administration as well as international relations....Show moreThe study of the successful negotiation of Global Public Goods (GPGs) can enlighten scholars across political economy, political science, public administration as well as international relations. The 20 yearlong Mercosur-EU trade negotiations which culminated in an agreement between the South American and European trade blocs in 2019 provides an example of a successful GPG negotiation against the unique backdrop of an agreement between two transnational organisations. Whilst there is no set view on what the factor that makes GPG negotiations successful, a focus on the fairness and justice consideration is increasingly recognised. The thesis takes this fairness and justice consideration as its guiding framework in assessing the success of the Mercosur-EU GPG negotiations. Given the two stages of the negotiation, the first from 2000-2004 which ended unsuccessfully, and the second 2010-2019 which ended successfully, this thesis compares both stages through a process tracing exploring whether fairness and justice play a larger role in the second stage and evaluating its contribution to the successful signing of the agreement. Developing its own framework based around four key concepts: Fair Treatment, Fair Play, Extending the Notion of Reciprocity and Going Beyond Narrow Self-Interest, the two stages are compared and evaluated. Whilst the main focus centres on fairness and justice, other confounding factors such as the leadership shown from certain states in driving forward the negotiations is also acknowledged.Show less
