The Homogenization of Urban Climate Action Discourses
Linda Westman,
Vanesa Castán Broto and
Ping Huang
Global Environmental Politics, 2023, vol. 23, issue 2, 102-124
Abstract:
The diversification of actors in global climate governance may entail risks, but it is also linked to enhanced democratic performance and opportunities for innovation. To what extent has this diversification fostered a parallel multiplication of perspectives in urban climate policy? To answer this question, we analyze the evolution of urban narratives based on 463 international policy documents issued between 1946 and 2020. Our analysis shows that, instead of leading to diversification, the proliferation of actors is accompanied by a growing homogenization of urban narratives. Language appears to become progressively uniform across organizations and over time, with approaches emphasizing multi-actor governance, integrated planning, and co-benefits becoming dominant. Three factors explain this homogenization. First, actors with a long history of involvement in international development exert a significant amount of influence. Second, there is a tendency toward language harmonization in international policy. Third, urban climate narratives stabilize through association with broader policy paradigms. In conclusion, the diversification of actors in international climate policy is mediated by processes of narrative alignment, which foreclose possibilities for divergent thinking.
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00697
Access to PDF is restricted to subscribers.
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:23:y:2023:i:2:p:102-124
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://mitpressjour ... rnal/?issn=1526-3800
Access Statistics for this article
Global Environmental Politics is currently edited by Steven Bernstein, Matthew Hoffmann and Erika Weinthal
More articles in Global Environmental Politics from MIT Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by The MIT Press ().