World society theory argues that international organizations generate norms, or scripts, that pus... more World society theory argues that international organizations generate norms, or scripts, that push nations states to adopt similar governance strategies. This article focuses on an understudied set of governance scripts: development strategies that stem from international organizations and shape foreign aid. I argue that global norms of energy development push increased fossil fuel consumption as a means of development. It is widely known, however, that international environmental organizations diffuse norms that push nations to protect the environment. These contradictory scripts call into question the uniformly beneficial impact of the world polity on the natural environment. This study examines energy aid's impact on national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in developing nations in the context of these contradictory norms. Using an original panel dataset of 121 countries, I test three hypotheses using fixed-effects regression with AR[1] corrections: (1) Whether aid increases CO2 emissions in recipient countries, (2) whether nations more embedded in the world environmental regime emit less carbon dioxide, and (3) whether the impact of energy sector aid is moderated by world environmental regime integration. Findings show that aid is associated with increased CO2 emissions, but environmental regime embeddedness moderates this effect. Conclusions include theoretical/methodological implications and directions for future research.
Environmental sociologists highlight the exploitative nature of the global capitalist economy whe... more Environmental sociologists highlight the exploitative nature of the global capitalist economy where resource extraction from nations in the periphery tends to disproportionately benefit those of the core. From the Brazilian Amazon to mineral-rich Sub-Saharan Africa, the practice of " unequal ecological exchange " persists. Simultaneously, a " global environmental regime " has coalesced as a prominent feature of the contemporary world system. In the post-World War II era, legitimate nation-states must take steps to protect the natural environment and prevent its degradation even at their own economic expense. Stronger national ties to global institutions, particularly international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) consistently yield more positive environmental outcomes. However, previous work suggests that normative expectations for improved environmental practices will be weak or nonexistent in the periphery. We use the case of palm oil production and its relationship to deforestation to provide a more nuanced analysis of the relationship between material and institutional forces in the periphery. Using unbalanced panels of fifteen palm oil producing countries from 1990 to 2012, we find that stronger national ties to world society via citizen memberships in INGOs result in greater primary forest area among palm oil producers. However, this effect is strongest where production is lowest and weakens as production increases. Even in the cases of Indonesia and Malaysia, where palm oil production is substantially higher than any other producer, ties to global institutions are significantly related to reduced forest loss. These results indicate the variable importance of national embeddedness into global institutions within the periphery of the world system.
World society theory argues that international organizations generate norms, or scripts, that pus... more World society theory argues that international organizations generate norms, or scripts, that push nations states to adopt similar governance strategies. This article focuses on an understudied set of governance scripts: development strategies that stem from international organizations and shape foreign aid. I argue that global norms of energy development push increased fossil fuel consumption as a means of development. It is widely known, however, that international environmental organizations diffuse norms that push nations to protect the environment. These contradictory scripts call into question the uniformly beneficial impact of the world polity on the natural environment. This study examines energy aid's impact on national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in developing nations in the context of these contradictory norms. Using an original panel dataset of 121 countries, I test three hypotheses using fixed-effects regression with AR[1] corrections: (1) Whether aid increases CO2 emissions in recipient countries, (2) whether nations more embedded in the world environmental regime emit less carbon dioxide, and (3) whether the impact of energy sector aid is moderated by world environmental regime integration. Findings show that aid is associated with increased CO2 emissions, but environmental regime embeddedness moderates this effect. Conclusions include theoretical/methodological implications and directions for future research.
Environmental sociologists highlight the exploitative nature of the global capitalist economy whe... more Environmental sociologists highlight the exploitative nature of the global capitalist economy where resource extraction from nations in the periphery tends to disproportionately benefit those of the core. From the Brazilian Amazon to mineral-rich Sub-Saharan Africa, the practice of " unequal ecological exchange " persists. Simultaneously, a " global environmental regime " has coalesced as a prominent feature of the contemporary world system. In the post-World War II era, legitimate nation-states must take steps to protect the natural environment and prevent its degradation even at their own economic expense. Stronger national ties to global institutions, particularly international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) consistently yield more positive environmental outcomes. However, previous work suggests that normative expectations for improved environmental practices will be weak or nonexistent in the periphery. We use the case of palm oil production and its relationship to deforestation to provide a more nuanced analysis of the relationship between material and institutional forces in the periphery. Using unbalanced panels of fifteen palm oil producing countries from 1990 to 2012, we find that stronger national ties to world society via citizen memberships in INGOs result in greater primary forest area among palm oil producers. However, this effect is strongest where production is lowest and weakens as production increases. Even in the cases of Indonesia and Malaysia, where palm oil production is substantially higher than any other producer, ties to global institutions are significantly related to reduced forest loss. These results indicate the variable importance of national embeddedness into global institutions within the periphery of the world system.
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Papers by Kent Henderson