CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Szmurlo, Jamie |
|---|---|
| Title | Addressing Causes of Environmental Degradation through Regime-Building and International Cooperation: A Comparative Case Study of Lake Victoria and the Aral Sea |
| Summary | Large scale environmental degradation is a problem that plagues individuals, communities, nations, and the international community. In a search for solutions, this essay asks the question: How are the causes of environmental degradation addressed by nations? Some perspectives on the topic are rooted in the problems which stem from environmental degradation, can be economic, social, political, and scientific in nature. The literature within economics tries to establish a link between development and the state of the environment. Development can also refer to social and political debates that try to establish a link between governing and freedom and the environment. Further still, scientific debates address social issues like health linked to pollution and environmental problems to human population and the environment. The literature in these fields offers solutions albeit inadequate ones to environmental problems. While each perspective offers solutions on how to address environmental degradation, the most holistic approach is through the study of international regime-building and cooperation within the international relations literature. Through a comparative case study, this essay examines two cases of large-scale environmental degradation to freshwater resources; Lake Victoria in East Africa and the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The results support hypotheses in international relations that regime building and international cooperation are how nations address the causes of environmental degradation. These findings not only reveal that regime-building and international cooperation are being used but that through these instruments, improvement of once degraded resources is possible. |
| Supervisor | Kim, Youngmi |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/szmurlo_jamie.pdf |
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