The following three essays present an analysis that combines well-known models of fisheries management with contemporary theories of international trade and industrial organization. The general theme of the thesis is that countries' fisheries management policies can affect the strategic interaction between their fishing industries. The first essay examines the problem of noncooperative management of international fisheries by analyzing the strategic rent-shifting roles for such well-known national management policies as fleet licensing and effort subsidies. It is shown that the noncooperative equilibrium in each policy takes the form of a prisoner's dilemma with dissipated rents in the fishery. It is also shown that strategic effort subsidies can only lead to incomplete rent dissipation but strategic fleet licensing can lead to complete rent dissipation. The second essay develops a theory of cooperative management of international fisheries by considering negotiation between countries over the same fleet licensing and effort subsidy policies considered in the first essay. The outcomes of negotiation over these policies are compared to the corresponding noncooperative outcomes, on the one hand, and to the efficient outcome on the other. It is shown that negotiation over effort subsidies in the absence of side payments is efficient, but negotiation over fleet sizes in the absence of side payments is inefficient. The third essay develops a two-stage two-period model of a 'domestic' country and a 'foreign' country whose respective fishing industries harvest from separate fisheries for the same international market. The domestic country uses a harvest policy to regulate the harvest by its fishing industry, but the harvest by the foreign fishing industry is unregulated. Two types of fisheries are considered. In the case of schooling fisheries, the domestic country may choose a conservative harvest policy in the first period if it can induce the biological collapse of the foreign fishery in the second period. In the case of search fisheries, the domestic country always chooses a conservative harvest policy in the first period in order to induce the economic degradation of the foreign fishery in the second period. The results suggest that international fisheries trade in the presence of divergent national fisheries management regimes could have unexpected consequences for world fisheries.

The following three essays present an analysis that combines well-known models of fisheries management with contemporary theories of international trade and industrial organization. The general theme of the thesis is that countries' fisheries management policies can affect the strategic interaction between their fishing industries. The first essay examines the problem of noncooperative management of international fisheries by analyzing the strategic rent-shifting roles for such well-known national management policies as fleet licensing and effort subsidies. It is shown that the noncooperative equilibrium in each policy takes the form of a prisoner's dilemma with dissipated rents in the fishery. It is also shown that strategic effort subsidies can only lead to incomplete rent dissipation but strategic fleet licensing can lead to complete rent dissipation. The second essay develops a theory of cooperative management of international fisheries by considering negotiation between countries over the same fleet licensing and effort subsidy policies considered in the first essay. The outcomes of negotiation over these policies are compared to the corresponding noncooperative outcomes, on the one hand, and to the efficient outcome on the other. It is shown that negotiation over effort subsidies in the absence of side payments is efficient, but negotiation over fleet sizes in the absence of side payments is inefficient. The third essay develops a two-stage two-period model of a 'domestic' country and a 'foreign' country whose respective fishing industries harvest from separate fisheries for the same international market. The domestic country uses a harvest policy to regulate the harvest by its fishing industry, but the harvest by the foreign fishing industry is unregulated. Two types of fisheries are considered. In the case of schooling fisheries, the domestic country may choose a conservative harvest policy in the first period if it can induce the biological collapse of the foreign fishery in the second period. In the case of search fisheries, the domestic country always chooses a conservative harvest policy in the first period in order to induce the economic degradation of the foreign fishery in the second period. The results suggest that international fisheries trade in the presence of divergent national fisheries management regimes could have unexpected consequences for world fisheries. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

The realist tradition in world politics has long been heralded by statesmen and scholars alike as offering an authentic account of the relations between states. Realists consider self-interest, anarchy, and power politics to guide the behavior of states in the international system. The perception that cooperation and amity are now the norm in the international system has raised the possibility of a theoretical shift of focus in the study of international politics. At present, scholars within the discipline of international politics are debating the relevance of realist thought. In particular, neorealism, or the structural variation of traditional realism, is under attack for not providing a rationale for international cooperation. This project undertakes to expand neorealism's ability to explain state behavior in the area of environmental cooperation. Employing the notion of anarchy as a self-help system, it shall be demonstrated that international environmental agreements appear to be influenced by the distribution of power in the international system. Anarchy mandates the need for state actors to cooperate on certain environmental issues, while that same system dissuades cooperation on a number of other important environmental matters. This thesis critiques the theoretical principles in neorealism and makes moderate changes to them. In keeping with neorealist thought, power, the interests of important states, and the position of the hegemon are considered important factors in understanding environmental cooperation. This project also studies three global environmental issues that provide insight into the rewards and limitations of using neorealism to explain cooperation.

This study focuses on identifying the conditions which encourage or discourage international cooperation with regard to environmental problem-solving. In particular, the divergence between two key international relations theories, Environmentalism and Realism, will be examined in hopes of forging a rapprochement and stimulating research for a comprehensive theoretical approach to global environmental problem-solving. It is hypothesized that a state-centric political system is both a reality and an effective structure for environmental problem-solving, therefore an examination of state participation and the motivators and inhibitors affecting state response on certain environmental issues is conducted. In particular, this study hypothesizes that uncertainty can act as an inhibitor, and without the introduction of motivators can prevent states from participating in environmental problem-solving. A conceptual model of state courses of action is utilized to illustrate the potential of state participation and the development of a state-centric approach.

This research analyzes three contributing factors, perception, knowledge, and affordability, in order to estimate the likelihood of state cooperation on effective regulatory policies for transboundary environmental problems. The correlative hypothesis in this research postulates that states are more likely to support environmental regulatory policies when the issue is perceived by policymakers as serious, substantiated by a high level of knowledge, and affordable for the state. Regulatory policies for transboundary environmental issues require policymakers to act in foresight, employ precautionary measures, and cooperate. Cooperation implies that states will coordinate their policies and eschew their dominant strategy of independent decision making. However, this research contends that states decide to cooperate because they perceive the strategic interaction to be beneficial. Thus, the theory of cooperation in this research is consistent with realist assumptions of rational egoism.

The atmosphere transcends boundaries. So does the politics of the global atmosphere. This study focuses on Japan, discourse, and knowledge in the politics of the global atmosphere, including ozone layer depletion and climate change. In this study, I show how Japan's policy changed as its knowledge on the global atmosphere progressed from severely limited and distorted, to comprehensive and advanced. The change, I contend, had little to do with availability of or access to knowledge, and instead, was dependent upon the context with which existing scientific knowledge was interpreted. The major determinant of the environmental policy context in Japan, I argue, is the dominant discourse. Discourses, in other words, have a crucial impact on how scientific knowledge is interpreted, which, in turn, has a crucial impact on the policy choices that are made at both the international and domestic levels. This is not to say that an analysis of discourse explains everything. It does not. But, along with an analysis of transnational knowledge, power, and interests, it is a necessary part of the explanation of Japan's policy toward the global atmosphere. To achieve the objectives of my research, this dissertation uses a two-level (international/domestic) case study of the politics of ozone layer depletion and climate change in Japan. First, I found that what I call a "marriage of convenience" between science and policy was a critical aspect of the process of knowledge and policy construction. Second, my analysis shows that Japan's policy toward global atmospheric issues was manifestly impacted by the discursive power of global environmentalism and the precautionary principle. In this regard, I argue that, in challenging Japan's hitherto dominant kogai discourse and dominant policy making discourse based on "pollution-response," the discourses of global environmentalism and the precautionary principle resulted in a reorganization of institutional arrangements within Japan. Third, my analysis traces the transnationalization of domestic actors in Japan, and shows how these actors-NGOs, industry and industry organizations, and scientists-in linking up with counterparts across borders (I) enhanced their knowledge, (2) reinforced their interests and power, and (3) materially influenced the policy making process. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 360-396). / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xiv, 396 leaves, bound 29 cm

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Transnational networks are growing in prevalence and importance as states, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental organizations seek to meet climate change goals; yet, the organizations in these networks struggle between the global, technical and local, contextual sources of power, authority, and knowledge used to influence decision-making and governance. This dissertation analyzes these contestations in Pacific Islands climate change diplomacy and governance efforts by asking: i) What do power relations look like among the Pacific Islands' networked organizations? ii) To what authority do organizations appeal to access sources of power? iii) What sources of knowledge are produced and reproduced by these organizations? and iv) How do these patterns fit within the broader history of the Pacific Islands and climate change? I draw from interviews, document analysis, event participation, and social network analysis of Pacific Island climate change diplomacy and governance. This examination leads me to propose the concept of "Climate Empire," which can be understood as the network of knowledge and communicative services that imagine, build, and administer the globe through a decentralized and deterritorialized apparatus of rule. In the Pacific Islands, Climate Empire upholds technical bureaucratic and scientific approaches to overcoming climate challenges; however, the global spaces in which these approaches are produced are reconnected with the spaces of local resistance through data collection networks and efforts to relocalize knowledge. Thus, the local/global divisions found in diplomacy and governance in the Pacific Islands collectively produce and reform Climate Empire as organizations interact in the network. Further research is necessary to understand the extensiveness of Climate Empire, as well as to ensure the inclusion and empowerment of Pacific Island voices in climate governance for both justice and efficacy.

M.Com. (Economics) / The objective of the thesis was to examine the creation of a generally acceptable international unit of account as a precondition for the establishment of a more orderly international monetary system. The payments problem over the national boundary has for centuries baffled the brains and wits of the world's foremost economists, bankers and politicians. The high level of abstraction of the international monetary phenomenon, and the dynamics and geo-politics involved, tend to conceal the essence of the variables at work. The evolution of the international monetary system would thus seem to have trailed the evolution of the national monetary systems by almost two centuries. As recently as the twenties of this century the essence of the international monetary system was still sought in gold, a commodity that could never accommodate the growing payments needs of the world economy, especially at times when events such as wars and technological innovation acted as powerful catalysts expediting the course of events between nations. The use of the key currencies, especially the British pound sterling and the US-dollar, as instruments for international payment could not work for any length of time ...

The present study investigated whether cluster potentials could be identified in the geographical area within the boundaries of Samsun province, and if identified, how such a potential could be promoted through corresponding support measures. Development of policy recommendations for promotion of identified cluster potential was the principal goal of the study. The course of the study was characterized by a cluster-based policy-making process in the policy environment, i.e. Samsun province. The process includes a descriptive part, i.e. cluster analysis, and a prescriptive part, i.e. determining policy goals and designing policy instruments. In the literature review, a guide to the field study was developed by review of various approaches to cluster concept / common features of clusters and the competitive advantages these give rise to / various practices in cluster-based policy development, and various cluster analysis methods. The field study starts with the initial identification of need for policy intervention, at which stage the rationale for pursuing a cluster-based policy in the specific conditions of Samsun and Turkey was discussed. The &ldquo / clusters as sectors&rdquo / approach was utilized in the identification of region&rsquo / s (potential) clusters and selection of the cluster as the subject of analysis and policy development. The analysis of industrial sectors in Samsun&rsquo / s economy was followed by selection of the target sector via employing various criteria assessing the importance of these sectors in terms of value added to the regional economy, and the clustering potential. Accordingly, furniture sector was selected, and the agglomeration of furniture sector enterprises in Kutlukent locality was identified as the potential cluster to be the subject of analysis and policy development. Following the identification of the potential cluster, the descriptive part was completed by second-stage micro-level analysis of the identified potential cluster, by which detailed information about the potential cluster was presented. At that phase, cluster potential of the structure was assessed by examining the elements in cluster value and production chain / public and private business support infrastructure / the flow of materials and goods in the chain / untraded relationships between the elements / characteristics of enterprises and workforce / and innovation performance. This comprehensive in-depth analysis of the cluster provided the required information to identify the specific needs of the cluster for cluster-based policy intervention. In the last part of the thesis, i.e. prescriptive part, cluster-oriented policy recommendations were developed including the determination of policy goal and the design/selection of policy instruments. The necessary information was collected by two-stage expert interviews, and by overall scan of the enterprises involved in the cluster via enterprise survey, which was realized in interviews with all of the enterprises. Six experts and 283 enterprises participated in the study. The results of the analysis showed that, while Kutlukent furniture cluster had some features, which are common in effective cluster models, the cluster lacks some critical features, which are crucial for effective functioning of a successful cluster. Hence, Kutlukent furniture cluster was defined as a &ldquo / potential&rdquo / cluster, which should be promoted by utilizing the existing potentials and strengths, and by addressing the weaknesses and obstacles identified in the analysis of the cluster, via appropriate cluster-oriented policy measures, which were proposed in the prescriptive part of the policy-making process. By these measures, the elements of Kutlukent potential cluster would be able to realize competitive advantages associated with clustering as in successful cluster models.