Bridging international relations and disaster studies: the case of disaster–conflict scholarship

International relations and disaster studies have much to gain by thinking critically about their respective theoretical and epistemological assumptions. Yet, few studies to date have sought to assess the potential value of linking these two disciplines. This paper begins to address this shortfall by examining the relationship between disasters and conflict as a research sphere that intersects international relations and disaster studies. Through an analysis of whether or not disasters contribute to intra‐national and international conflict, this paper not only provides a review of the state of the art, but also serves to invite scholars to reflect on related concepts from other fields to strengthen their own approaches to the study of disasters in an international setting. An evaluation of the conceptual and theoretical contributions of each subject area provides useful heuristics for the development of disaster–conflict scholarship and encourages alternative modes of knowledge production through interdisciplinarity.     

农村水环境治理行动的演化博弈分析

新常态下,我国环境承载力已经达到或接近上限,农村水环境也存在着"边治理、边污染"和地方政府监管乏力问题,究其根源是缺乏农村水环境治理的内生机制,在中央政府投入大量精力、财力的同时,其他利益相关主体却存在不同利益诉求和行为导向冲突,因而厘清农村水环境治理行动中的主体博弈关系有助于突破此现实困境,形成良好的行动机制。本文利用演化博弈模型,分析了地方政府、企业和农户三方博弈主体在农村水环境治理行动中的演化过程。研究结果表明,系统演化具有多重复杂情景,在良好的演化情景下,只要农户参与治理的意愿高,地方政府最终将趋向于引导行动,企业也相应选择净化策略,三方实现共同治理,农村水环境质量将得到显著改善;相反地,在不良演化情景下,即使农户愿意参与治理、或企业愿意采取净化策略,都无法得到地方政府的支持和系统中其他主体的响应,系统将锁定于不良状态,最终造成农村水环境治理的"公地悲剧";在一般情景下,通过调节各方策略的参数值,发现只要地方政府和企业联合起来致力于通过一系列引导和扶持策略保障农户从参与农村水环境治理中获得切实利益,可使系统跳出不良状态,形成三方共同治理的良好局面。实例分析结果进一步验证了只要政府和企业联合行动以切实保障农户的利益,就有利于促进农村水环境质量提升。据此提出促进三方共同参与、保障农户利益的农村水环境治理行动对策建议。     

环境监管法律关系理论解析与立法完善

环境监管不同于环境管理。环境监管强调的是监督和管理的结合,二者不可偏废。而相应的对环境监管法律关系的理解也不能仅仅局限于管理的角度。要厘清我国环境监管法律关系,就要从主体、主体的权利与义务和客体等构成要素入手深入剖析,进而对我国环境监管立法完善进行有益的拓展。     

The role of economic invisibility in development: veiling women's work in rural Pakistan

The thesis in this article is that both women's work and its invisibility are essential to development, and at two levels: to the economy of rural households and to the wider development process. For rural households, the case of Pakistan suggests that the veils that conceal women's work shield a portion of household production from the risks and extractions inherent in their involvement with development. This shielded production depends on off-farm natural resources of which the use is also veiled. For States and other development interests, the author suggests that women's work constitutes a subsidy which is intentionally invisible. The subsidy of women's labour is linked to a forest-to-farm subsidy. Women's invisible work, in other words, is not invisible because it is not seen, but because the process of economic development—for both rural households and States and other development actors—requires that it be hidden.     

Corporate Ethics in the Era of Globalization: The Promise and Peril of International Environmental Standards

The growing assumption thattransnational corporations (TNCs) will apply``best practice' and ``international standards'in their operations in developing countries hasseldom been checked against close observationof corporate behavior. In this article, Ipresent a case study, based on field research,of one voluntary initiative to useinternational standards and best practice forenvironmental protection in the AmazonRainforest, by a US-based oil company,Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) in Ecuador. The moststriking finding is that the company refuses todisclose the precise standards that apply toits operations. This, and the refusal todisclose other important environmentalinformation, make it impossible to verifyindependently Oxy's claims of environmentalexcellence, or assess the effectiveness of theinitiative. At the same time, Oxy uses theinvocation of international standards to wrapitself in a veneer of corporate responsibility;reassure government officials and localresidents; cultivate confusion about standardsand practices that apply to the operations;deflect meaningful oversight and transparency;and arbitrarily legitimize norms that have beendefined by special interests. In short,international standards offer great promise forneeded environmental improvements; but can alsobe used to impede, rather than advance,corporate responsibility and the development ofeffective environmental law at the nationallevel. These findings suggest that for theapplication of international standards to bemeaningful, the international community needsto move beyond statements of principle anddevelop mechanisms that can be used toevaluate, verify, and monitor independentlyenvironmental claims by TNCs.     

What makes for good and bad neighbours? An emerging research agenda in the study of Chinese environmental politics

Tackling China’s grave environmental problems increasingly turns on questions of sub-national interjurisdictional relations. What are the conditions under which neighbouring localities cooperate in stewardship of the natural environment? What factors give rise to interjurisdictional conflict such as pollution spillovers? Through a combination of empirical and theoretical reflections, a research agenda to better understand these issues is outlined. First, China’s recent innovative approaches to the promotion of interjurisdictional cooperation are examined. An in-depth case study of interjurisdictional ecological protection ‘redline’ zones underscores the difficulties of inculcating environmental neighbourliness between local governments. Yet, a precise diagnosis of the problem remains elusive because too little is known about the underlying drivers of interjurisdictional relations in China. An analytical framework that draws insight from contemporary China studies and comparative environmental governance scholarship is offered for the study of interjurisdictional environmental relations in China.     

A Missed Opportunity?: NOAA’s Use of Social Media to Communicate Climate Science

In the current media landscape, organizations often communicate about science directly with publics through online channels rather than relying on journalist gatekeepers. Online platforms present organizations with the opportunity to participate in two-way communication in order to increase engagement with science. The present study examined how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) utilizes social media to interact with publics. Results suggest that NOAA does not fully utilize the dialogic potential of social media, which could enhance both the public’s science literacy and trust in science regarding climate change specifically. This study informs how public relations theory may complement science communication theory and practice as deficit model-thinking transitions to contemporary approaches for public engagement with science.     

基于环境库兹涅茨模型的经济与环境关系分析

环境与经济协调关系的研究可以定性地反映区域环境与经济发展的综合实力水平。以河南省为例,运用环境库兹涅茨曲线法分别对河南省"十五"十一五"环境与经济协调发展水平进行定性评价,得出河南省"十一五"较"十五"期间更为协调。并通过比较衡量河南省2个时期总体环境与经济的发展状况,分析目前环境与经济发展之间存在的问题,借以明确环境与经济协调发展走向和持续协调的对策。     

矿业环境相邻关系立法初探

矿业环境相邻关系的界定是相应环境产权私人化的途径。由矿业环境相邻权与矿业成员环境权双向对接组成的环境相邻关系,通过法律来约束矿山企业的环境相邻权和激励相邻对方的成员环境权而共同保护矿业环境。矿山企业一方给相邻对方合理施加容忍义务,相邻对方应当容忍非实质性的或当地通行的影响。成员环境权的保护,是基于物权而行使消除危险、排除妨害和恢复原状的请求权,基于债权而行使侵害赔偿请求权。     

Governance of environmental risk: new approaches to managing stakeholder involvement

Disputes concerning industrial legacies such as the disposal of toxic wastes illustrate changing pressures on corporations and governments. Business and governments are now confronted with managing the expectations of a society increasingly aware of the social and environmental impacts and risks associated with economic development and demanding more equitable distribution and democratic management of such risks. The closed managerialist decision-making of the powerful bureaucracies and corporations of the industrial era is informed by traditional management theory which cannot provide a framework for the adequate governance of these risks. Recent socio-political theories have conceptualised some key themes that must be addressed in a more fitting approach to governance. We identify more recent management and governance theory which addresses these themes and develop a process-based approach to governance of environmental disputes that allows for the evolving nature of stakeholder relations in a highly complex multiple stakeholder arena.