Climate Politics in Small European States

The characteristics of small states generate multiple and contradictory expectations concerning their climate policies and politics. Do small states perceive themselves as market- and rule-takers, which are largely irrelevant to a global problem, and which must prioritise international competitiveness above climate policy goals? Or do their institutions and their small size foster consensus, coordination, and nimble responses to a changing international scene, allowing them to attain competitive advantages and become climate leaders?

Climate Politics in Small European States examines how the characteristics of small states structure climate politics and both enable and constrain ambitious climate policies. This volume contributes to our knowledge of how institutions, including electoral institutions and institutions of interest intermediation, actors such as parties, interest groups, individuals, governments, and ideas shape climate policy and politics. The volume also contributes to redressing a deficit in the attention given to smaller states in the study of comparative climate politics.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Environmental Politics.

Prof. Neil Carter is Professor of Politics in the Department of Politics at the University of York. He is the author of The Politics of the Environment (3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Dr. Conor Little is Lecturer in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick. His research on climate politics focuses on the policy preferences and policy influence of political parties.

Dr. Diarmuid Torney is Associate Professor in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. He co-founded DCU’s MSc in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society and he is the author of European Climate Leadership in Question: Policies toward China and India (MIT Press, 2015).