State and Non-state Actors in the Climate Change Regime, the Power of Legitimacy Among Actors in International Environmental Institutions

Book excerpt: Non-state actors have become increasingly involved in the formulation, implementation and enforcement of international environmental law, but their influence is not yet reflected in the design of environmental regimes. This thesis outlines a normative framework for the emerging global civil society, based on a horizontal understanding of legitimacy in international lawmaking. After criticizing the case liberal scholars make in favour of non-state actors participation in international lawmaking, which is based on notions of vertical legitimacy, I suggest an alternative understanding of legitimacy between and among state and non-state actors, drawing upon social constructivism, "international society" theories, and the jurisprudential insights provided by the "interactional theory" of international law. While the institutional design of the climate change regime represents a shift away from a formalistic conception of international law, a state-centric view of international law continues to constrain the creativeness of its institutional design, and threatens to impede its successful implementation.