The analytical problem of Agency in Earth System Governance stands at the centre of a special issue of International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics that is published recently.
This special issue addresses the analytical problem of agency in earth system governance, an analytical problem that begins with the assumption that the credibility, stability, adaptiveness, and inclusiveness of earth system governance is affected by a wide range of actors, including national governments and their bureaucracies as well as the growing population of non-state actors such as environmental organizations, expert networks, and corporations. The articles included in this special issue engage with questions of agency in earth system governance from several different theoretical perspectives, complemented by unique empirical cases and/or methodological approaches. Along the way, the authors confront some of the conceptual challenges associated with the study of agency and advance our understanding of this important governance challenge.
See for abstracts of all articles and links to the full articles online: http://earthsystemgovernance.org/publications/articles