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Cited by 118Climate Change and GeoengineeringInternational Relations and Foreign PolicySpace exploration and regulation

The International Politics of Climate Engineering: A Review and Prospectus for International Relations

Horton, Joshua B., Reynolds, Jesse L.·2016·International Studies Review
DOI 10.1093/isr/viv013
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Abstract

Proposed large-scale intentional interventions in natural systems in order to counter climate change, typically called “climate engineering” or “geoengineering,” stand to dramatically alter the international politics of climate change and potentially much more. There is currently a significant and growing literature on the international politics of climate engineering. However, it has been produced primarily by scholars from outside the discipline of International Relations (IR). We are concerned that IR scholars are missing a critical opportunity to offer insights into, and perhaps help shape, the emerging international politics of climate engineering. To that end, the primary goal of this paper is to call the attention of the IR community to these developments. Thus, we offer here an overview of the existing literature on the international politics of climate engineering and a preliminary assessment of its strengths and lacunae. We trace several key themes in this corpus, including problem structure, the concern that climate engineering could undermine emissions cuts, the potentially “slippery slope” of research and development, unilateral implementation, interstate conflict, militarization, rising tensions between industrialized and developing countries, and governance challenges and opportunities. The international politics of climate engineering is then considered through the lenses of the leading IR theories (Realism, Institutionalism, Liberalism, and Constructivism), e…

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Crossref · 10.1093/isr/viv013

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  • A post-nuclear world would likely exhibit a lack of international cohesion that is seen as an enabling condition for effective SAI.

    “Lastly, a post-nuclear world would likely exhibit a lack of international cohesion that is seen as an enabling condition for effective SAI (Horton and Reynolds, 2016; Chhetri et al., 2018; Jinnah, 2019).”

    From A Fate Worse Than Warming? Stratospheric Aerosol Injection and Global Catastrophic Risk (2021) · cites this paper as Horton and Reynolds, 2016

  • Previous studies have made a compelling case that the direct weaponisation of SAI is unlikely.

    “Previous studies have made a compelling case that the direct weaponisation of SAI is unlikely (Fleming, 2007; Olson, 2011; Horton and Reynolds, 2016; Lin, 2016; Halstead, 2018).”

    From A Fate Worse Than Warming? Stratospheric Aerosol Injection and Global Catastrophic Risk (2021) · cites this paper as Horton and Reynolds, 2016

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Related

Authors
Horton, J. B., & Reynolds, J. L.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Tilburg University (NL)
ORCID
Venue
International Studies Review
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2016-03-18
Volume
18
Issue
3
Pages
438-461
ISSN
  • 1468-2486 (ISSN-L)
  • 1521-9488
DOI
10.1093/isr/viv013
OpenAlex
W917668197
Cited by
118
References
89
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
17.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Studies Review (publishedVersion)
  • Research portal (Tilburg University) (publishedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Geoengineering
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › International Relations and Foreign Policy
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space exploration and regulation
Keywords
geoengineering, interstate conflict, militarization, climate governance, international law, institutional design, realism, institutionalism, liberalism, constructivism

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