The Institutionalization of the Global Environmental Stewardship Norm as Viewed by the English School and Its Impact on the Formulation and Implementation of the European Green Deal

Nabiilah Ronaa Salsabiilah, Dr. Maharani Hapsari, S.IP., M.A.

2023 | Skripsi | Ilmu Hubungan Internasional

The European Commission’s unveiling in 2019 of its newest development strategy, dubbed the European Green Deal, grabbed the international community by storm. The EU’s decision may not come as a surprise, given that the majority of the international agenda over the past few decades has been devoted to global environmental concerns and measures to alleviate them. Accompanying this popularity of attention devoted to the issue of global environmentalism is the increasing proliferation and actualization of the global environmental stewardship (GES) norm across the global international society (GIS). The formation of this particular norm has been largely researched, particularly by those adhering to the theoretical framework of the English School. Be that as it may, the English School’s flagship concept of international society focuses mostly on global-level analysis, leaving a significant gap in comprehending how a global norm gets internalized and entrenched within a regional context.

By utilizing the adjacent and accompanying concepts of primary and secondary institutions within the field of international society, this thesis aims to showcase that the state of the GES norm as well as its institutionalization can be said to have been running and functioning quite well within the specific regional international society of the EU. This is demonstrated first by the substantial entanglement of the Union’s development, institution-building process, and day-to-day processes with environmental principles and GES itself. Secondly, is through the formulation and the still ongoing actualization of the EGD. However, such progress is not without its own qualms. As was briefly mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the EGD is seen to have been predominately focused on achieving its environmental objectives through further financialization and commercialization policy measures which can have a negative impact on the already fragile ecological balance of many of Europe’s natural landscapes and ecological composition.

The European Commission’s unveiling in 2019 of its newest development strategy, dubbed the European Green Deal, grabbed the international community by storm. The EU’s decision may not come as a surprise, given that the majority of the international agenda over the past few decades has been devoted to global environmental concerns and measures to alleviate them. Accompanying this popularity of attention devoted to the issue of global environmentalism is the increasing proliferation and actualization of the global environmental stewardship (GES) norm across the global international society (GIS). The formation of this particular norm has been largely researched, particularly by those adhering to the theoretical framework of the English School. Be that as it may, the English School’s flagship concept of international society focuses mostly on global-level analysis, leaving a significant gap in comprehending how a global norm gets internalized and entrenched within a regional context.

By utilizing the adjacent and accompanying concepts of primary and secondary institutions within the field of international society, this thesis aims to showcase that the state of the GES norm as well as its institutionalization can be said to have been running and functioning quite well within the specific regional international society of the EU. This is demonstrated first by the substantial entanglement of the Union’s development, institution-building process, and day-to-day processes with environmental principles and GES itself. Secondly, is through the formulation and the still ongoing actualization of the EGD. However, such progress is not without its own qualms. As was briefly mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the EGD is seen to have been predominately focused on achieving its environmental objectives through further financialization and commercialization policy measures which can have a negative impact on the already fragile ecological balance of many of Europe’s natural landscapes and ecological composition.

Kata Kunci : European Green Deal, Primary and secondary institutions, Global environmental stewardship norm, Regional international society, European Union.