Climate calculus : does realist theory explain the Howard Government's decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Dempster, Benjamin Paul

Climate calculus : does realist theory explain the Howard Government's decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

dc.contributor.author	Dempster, Benjamin Paul
dc.date.accessioned	2009-03-01T21:09:14Z
dc.date.available	NO_RESTRICTION	en_US
dc.date.available	2009-03-01T21:09:14Z
dc.date.issued	2008
dc.description.abstract	Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions has the potential to cause widespread damage to the environment. As scientific and political consensus converged on the necessity to take action, a large number of countries negotiated the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, with the goal of limiting these emissions. Australia under the Howard Government initially played an important part in these negotiations, but refused to ratify the Protocol. The government cited the lack of binding targets on developing countries and the potential for harm to the Australian economy as the reasons it rejected the agreement. International relations theory studies large-scale political forces and analyses their interplay in the global political system. Realism is a model of international relations that views countries as self-interested, security-driven bodies that exist in a state of international anarchy. This study examines whether realist theory offers a satisfactory explanation for the Howard Government’s decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The study focuses on six realist ideas and examines the evidence for each. Based on thematic analysis of textual data taken from official political archives and newspapers from 1998–2004, it suggests that realist theory does provide an adequate explanation of the Howard Government’s rejection of the Kyoto Protocol.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10179/725
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.publisher	Massey University	en_US
dc.rights	The Author	en_US
dc.subject	Realist theory	en_US
dc.subject	Climate change	en_US
dc.subject	International relations	en_US
dc.subject	Australia	en_US
dc.subject	Kyoto Protocol	en_US
dc.subject.other	Fields of Research::370000 Studies in Human Society::370100 Sociology::370102 Social policy and planning	en_US
dc.title	Climate calculus : does realist theory explain the Howard Government's decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US
massey.contributor.author	Dempster, Benjamin Paul
thesis.degree.discipline	Social Policy	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	Massey University	en_US
thesis.degree.level	Masters	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Arts (M.A.)	en_US