Global warming is established as the major environmental issue in the international political agenda. It is commonly understood to be the most difficult problem to solve politically. Whilst there are many arguments about what should be done about global warming, there have been few attempts to explain the politics surrounding it. This text looks at the major theories within the discipline of international relations, and considers how these might be able to provide accounts of the emergence of global warming as a political issue. After discussing the dominant neo-realist and neo-liberal...

Global warming is established as the major environmental issue in the international political agenda. It is commonly understood to be the most difficult problem to solve politically. Whilst there are many arguments about what should be done about global warming, there have been few attempts to explain the politics surrounding it. This text looks at the major theories within the discipline of international relations, and considers how these might be able to provide accounts of the emergence of global warming as a political issue. After discussing the dominant neo-realist and neo-liberal...