Scrutinizing the Limits of International Institution: China’s Shifting Position on Global Climate Change.

For a while, scholars used climate change policy-making in China as a rare, yet strong case to argue effects of international institution on domestic politics. Therefore, recent dramatic shift in China’s participation in Kyoto Protocol came as a shock. What are the factors that lead the Chinese bureaucrats to calculate and conclude that being part of the global climate change regime is not beneficial to its own agenda? In this paper, we first endeavor to sort out possible explanations for this puzzling change. Moreover, we will re-visit the literature and theories on international institutions, particularly on how domestic structures and agents could, in turn, hinder the spread and consolidation of international norms and agreed principles. For methodology, in addition to archive research, we will apply systematic interview data analysis. We will build upon Hongyuan Yu’s interview date of Chinese policy makers conducted during the period of early 2000s, and extend it to include around 40 in the second half of 2007. Our preliminary research hints that domestic bureaucratic bargaining stands out as the most weighing factor that determines the internalization process of international negotiation results. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]