INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
2013–2014 Update
Tenth Edition
Chapter Eleven:
Environment
and Population
Joshua S. Goldstein
Jon C. Pevehouse
Windmill and nuclear power plant, Britain, mid-1980s.
11.1 Interdependence and the Environment
Global threats to the natural environment
Actions taken by one state
International environmental politics
Solution of environmental collective-goods problems
First UN conference on international environment
Second conference
Third conference
Fourth conference
Sustainable Development
11.1 Interdependence and the Environment
(cont.)
Sustainable natural environment
World’s major fisheries in international waters
Tragedy of the commons
Regimes an important part of the solution of environmental
collective-goods problems
Epistemic communities
Hard to manage collective-goods problems
TOO MANY COOKS
Management of environmental issues is complicated by the
large numbers of actors involved, which make collective goods
problems hard to resolve (participants may be more tempted
to free-ride). Here, 195 countries participate in global warming
negotiations in Doha, 2011.
Sustainable Development
Economic growth
1992 Earth Summit
11.1 Interdependence and the Environment
Q: The “tragedy of the commons” metaphor suggests which of
the following?
A) National interests should be defined in zero-sum
terms
B) The pursuit of self-interest will result in the
greatest good for the greatest number
C) Solutions to national problems will lead
automatically to the solution of international
problems
D) If individuals act out of short-term self-interest, all
may suffer in the long run
Answer:
D) If individuals act out of short-term self-interest, all
may suffer in the long run
True/False:
Sustainable economic development is the aim of
international efforts to solve environmental
problems.
Answer:
False
11.2 Managing the Environment
Atmosphere
Biodiversity
Forests and oceans
Pollution
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NOT SUSTAINABLE
Developing countries such as China rely heavily on coal and
other dirty technologies for the energy and raw materials they
need. As it grows rapidly, China is literally choking on its own
pollution. In 2013, the Beijing air quality far exceeded the most
dangerous end of the pollution scale. This woman’s mask
offers scant protection as she rides past a steel plant in
Beijing, 2013.
Atmosphere
Global warming
Ozone depletion
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
International treaties have been much more successful at
addressing ozone depletion than global warming, mostly
because of costs. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, extended in 2012,
set modest goals for industrialized countries to reduce their
output of carbon dioxide and related gases, but progress has
fallen short. Extreme weather in 2012 offered an early warning
sign. Here flooding hits the capital of Indonesia, 2013. If global
warming melts polar ice caps in the coming decades, sea
levels could rise and devastate many cities.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
Key delegates huddle at Durban conference, 2011.
Biodiversity
Diversity of plant and animal species
Extinction, loss of habitat
Whales, dolphins, tuna
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
Some environmentalists criticize the World
Bank and other international institutions
promoting economic development in poor
countries for interfering destructively in
local ecosystems such as rain forests. The
green revolution increased yields but
shifted patterns of agriculture in complex
ways, such as by increasing pesticide and
fertilizer runoff. Now genetically engineered
crops promise further increases in
agricultural productivity—more food on the
table—but with environmental
consequences that are not fully understood.
This gene bank in the Philippines stores
rice varieties from around the world.
Forests and Oceans
Rain forests
Oceans
Antarctica
Prime Minister of Ireland,
Enda Kenny
Pollution
Acid rain
Water pollution
Toxic and nuclear wastes
POISONED WATERS
Pollution easily crosses national borders. For example, here
industrial waste and sewage in the New River crosses from
Mexico into California, 2003.
11.2 Managing the Environment
Q: The UN Conference on the Law of the Sea Treaty _________.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Established rules on territorial waterways such as the Suez
Canal
Has never been signed by the United States
Created a mechanism for sharing the wealth created by
extracting minerals on the ocean floor
Provides a dispute resolution mechanism for territorial
water conflicts
Answer:
D) Provides a dispute resolution mechanism for territorial
water conflicts
True/False:
The threat of extinction impacts a limited number of species.
Answer:
False
11.3 Natural Resources
World energy
Minerals
Water disputes
World Energy
Extraction of resources brings states wealth
Required for operation of an industrial economy
Sources are associated with particular territories
Unevenly distributed
Oil, coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, nuclear
Energy consumption
Energy in international trade
History of oil
Oil shocks in 1970s
Caspian Sea
Pipeline routes
Minerals
Metals, other minerals
Different political economy than world energy
Iron ore, copper, tin, bauxite
Agriculture products
Water Disputes
Supplies, safe drinking water
Supplies cross international boundaries
Middle East - rivers
International security and the environment
Role of environment
Military activities
Military industries pollute
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
As population growth and economic development increase the
demand for water, more international conflicts arise over water
rights. Many important rivers pass through multiple states, and
many states share access to seas and lakes. The Aral Sea,
once part of the Soviet Union but now shared between
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was among the world’s largest
lakes until it was decimated by the diversion of its water
sources to irrigate cotton. This scene shows the former
seabed, now 70 miles from shore, in 1997.
11.3 Natural Resources
Q: Which countries, per capita, are the most energy efficient in
the world?
A) Countries in North America
B) Middle Eastern countries
C) European countries and Japan
D) The former Soviet Republics
Answer:
C) European countries and Japan
True/False:
Particularly because of industrial pollution,
human sewage, and agricultural fertilizers and
pesticides, water pollution often crosses borders.
Answer:
True
11.4 Population
The demographic transition
Population policies
Disease
The Demographic Transition
Difference between rates and rates of death
Agrarian, preindustrial societies
Industrialization
Birth rates fall as people become educated
Structure of population changes
Demographic transition
RUB AND TUB
Because of the demographic transition, controlling population
growth helps economic development and vice versa. Various
countries use a wide range of population policies to this end,
none stricter than China’s one-child policy for urban couples.
These Dutch babies enter a society well through the
demographic transition, with plentiful resources for relatively few
babies. Here, they cool down after a baby massage class, 2009.
Population Policies
Among most important policies
China at one extreme
Pronatalist at other extreme
Women’s status
Disease
Infant mortality rate
HIV/AIDS
Other infectious diseases
Smoking
Population and international conflict
Growing population exacerbates all international conflict
Migration another sources of conflict
Ethnic conflicts exacerbated
LIFE SAVER
AIDS has killed 30 million people and is spreading rapidly in
Southeast Asia and Africa. The worldwide effort to slow AIDS,
coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), illustrates
how global-level problems such as AIDS are making IOs such as
WHO more important. Currently, international efforts focus on
trying to get antiviral medicines to more of the world’s 40 million
infected people, such as this woman in Swaziland, who began
recovering after starting twice-a-day pills provided free each
month, 2004. Millions of people who cannot afford the drugs and
do not have access to a free program are dying of AIDS.
PANDEMIC PREVENTION
In 2009, H1N1 influenza (swine flu) spread rapidly across much
of the world, testing the small and poorly funded international
institutions devoted to global health, such as the World Health
Organization. In Mexico City in 2009, where the epidemic
gained speed and shut down normal life for weeks, this baptism
went on but with flu precautions taken.
11.4 Population
Q: Growing populations exacerbate ___________.
A) Iron scarcity
B) Integration
C) Ethnic conflicts
D) Unemployment rates
Answer:
C) Ethnic conflicts
True/False:
High future costs in health care face states that fail
to curb the spread of nicotine addiction.
Answer:
True
Chapter Discussion Question
How are environmental problems an example of international
interdependence? Why do they sometimes are they capable
of creating collective goods problems for the states involved?
What obstacles do states face in solving these problems?