Strategic Concepts and Interest Groups in China's Environmental

The London School of Economics and Political Science Strategic Concepts and Interest Groups in China’s Environmental Foreign Relations (1984-2015) Heidi Ningkang WANG-KAEDING A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2016. Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 87,800 words, excluding Bibliography and appendices. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Dr Gerard Sharpling. 1 Abstract This thesis introduces an overlooked perspective on Chinese foreign policy, that of interest groups. I use environmental foreign relations as a vantage point to examine how domestic interest groups exert influence on China’s environmental foreign relations. The proposed theoretical framework, constructivist utilitarianism, provides a bridge between the constructivist school and rationalistic institutionalism in the IR debate to explain the discursive turn of the Chinese government in global environmental governance. The discursive turn refers to the changing attitudes towards environmental governance based on learning, shared experiences, and offering an alternative norm to replace liberal environmentalism. The interest groups under scrutiny are line ministries, state-owned enterprises, environmental non-governmental organisations, local governors, and intellectuals. They each represent a distinct interest, and demonstrate different pathways for influencing foreign relations. The focus on domestic players supplements the traditional focus on international systemic factors to explain the behaviour of China on the global stage and in bilateral relations. The empirical chapters are organised according to three dimensions: international environmental treaty implementation, sharing the Chinese experience, and offering an alternative environmental norm. Each chapter focuses on one factor, in the following order: environmental diplomacy, the Chinese experience, and ecological civilisation. These three dimensions reflect the trend of the discursive turn, which is closely linked to China’s desire to establish a good national image. My findings show that interest groups in China utilise the strategic concepts of environmental diplomacy and the Chinese experience to maximise their interests. The emergence of the discourse of ecological civilisation creates space for different groups to jump onto the bandwagon by interpreting the concept in favour of their interests. In this process, identity politics becomes a mechanism by which to aggregate and rank domestic preferences in such a way that economic interests outweigh environmental ones at the state level. This thesis calls for more future research to examine other foreign relations issues through the lens of interest groups, to better comprehend the complex dynamics of China’s role in the world. 2 Acknowledgements I am extremely lucky and privileged to undertake my doctoral studies in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. I would not have come this far without the support of so many people. First of all, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Professor Chris R. Hughes, for his unwavering trust, encouragement, and support. He has not only pushed me to work on challenging and important questions and to hone my analytical skills, but also showed me how to be a highly esteemed scholar. This thesis would not have been completed without him clapping his hands and telling me I am nearly there when I was too exhausted to remember I was enjoying the whole process. As the Chinese proverb goes, he who teaches me for a day is my father for a lifetime. Thank you, my academic father, for your time, energy, and commitment to my research projects. Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to our faculty members. My research panellists, Professor Chris Coker and Dr Tomila Lankina, have offered their insightful comments and criticisms in the early stages of my thesis. Dr Robert Falkner provided me with an opportunity to work with him in the Dahrendorf Project where I saw the impact of our research on policy making. My debt is also to Professor William Callahan who helped me with a number of matters ranging from thesis writing and conference presentation to preparing for job interviews. Dr Tarak Barkawi and Dr Janina Dill are the role models I want to imitate: brilliant academics and wonderful human beings. It is my great honour to have worked with world-class scholars as a graduate teaching assistant: Professor Chris Alden, Professor Iver Neumann, and Dr Jens Meierhenrich. Special thanks also go to the efficient and professional administrators in our department: Hilary, Martina, Gabrielle, and Romy. Thirdly, my gratitude goes to the amazing scholars whom I met and befriended during conferences: Professor Gary Rawnsley, Dr Ming-yeh Rawnsley, Professor Jason Sharman, Professor Christian Göbel, Dr Timothy Hildebrandt, and Dr Simona Grano. They generously offered me help which ranged from helping me to find interviewees for my field trip to publication invitations. In addition, I thank all my interviewees for their time and for sharing their thoughts about China’s role in global environmental governance. I am indebted to Professor Zhang Haibin from Peking University for his guidance and support during my fieldwork in Beijing. Moreover, I would like to emphasise that I am privileged to have studied with brilliant young scholars who saw me through this journey and were indispensable for this four- year PhD journey: David, Flavia, Sophie, Martin, John, Julia, Cora, So Hyun, Lukas, Nawal, Kinga, Dimitrios, Bugra, Ziyuan, and Joanne. My friends outside academia have also shown me moral support: Agathe, Ria and Darren. The list goes on. Last but not least, this thesis is dedicated to my baba Mr Wang, mama Ms Shao, Shanshan jiejie, my Mutter Frau Krause, my Vater Herr Kaeding, Iggy, and my beloved husband, Dr Malte Kaeding, who changed my life. I am proud to have you as my family. I love you forever! A final word to my late grandparents: I made it! 3 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 3 List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 11 1.1 Subject and context .................................................................................................... 11 1.2 The literature .............................................................................................................. 21 1.3 Puzzles to solve .......................................................................................................... 35 1.4 Case selection ............................................................................................................. 37 1.5 Research question ...................................................................................................... 40 1.6 Hypothesis .................................................................................................................. 42 1.7 Overview of my arguments ....................................................................................... 42 1.8 Thesis outline ............................................................................................................. 44 Chapter 2 Theoretical framework ....................................................................................... 51 2.1 “Foreign relations” as subject field ........................................................................... 51 2.2 Explanatory factors: Interests, Ideas, Institutions and Identity ............................. 53 2.2.1 Rationalist institutionalism (RI) ........................................................................ 53 2.2.2 The Ideational Dimension in Foreign Relations ............................................... 76 2.2.3 Social Constructivism .......................................................................................... 86 2.3 Analytical framework: constructivist utilitarianism ............................................... 95 Chapter 3 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 99 3.1 Research objectives and questions ........................................................................... 99 3.2 An overview of methods used: quantitative and qualitative ...............................

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