The role of policy networks in governing transnational environmental issues in Southeast Asia

The study of inter-state cooperation on the environment seems an incomplete way of understanding environmental governance in Southeast Asia. Focusing only on state cooperative frameworks and assessing the effectiveness of international regimes in terms of problem-solving not only leads to the conclusion that ASEAN fails to deal with the problems; this approach also fails to find a solution to improve the effectiveness of those regimes. This thesis applies the network approach to understand better the dynamics and potential for cooperation of actual governance activities operating below the level of inter-state cooperation. This thesis proposes that policy networks are a kind of governance mechanism supporting ASEAN environmental cooperation through better processes. To examine the influential role of policy networks on the development of regimes, the transnational haze issue and the illegal transnational trade in wildlife issue are selected as case studies to investigate the relationships between components of the macro-structure of networks and the effectiveness of regimes. A comparison of the two cases reveals the similar role of policy networks in sustaining the environment and supporting environmental policy through functional activities in the policy monitoring and implementation stages. However, varying levels of success in improving the effectiveness of regimes result from different political opportunities, which are determined by the nature of international cooperation problems and the attributes of regimes. Since cooperation in the form of networks can enhance the effectiveness of regimes, the connections between intergovernmental organizations and transnational non-state actors should be considered for developing countries as an option for improving international cooperation in areas that are not priorities for states.