Survival of the Greenest: A Statistical Analysis of Constitutional Environmental Rights

Abstract

Why do some countries have constitutional environmental rights while others do not? In this chapter I conduct survival analysis using a Cox regression model on UN-recognized countries over the time period 1983-2010 in order to respond to this inquiry. This section proceeds as follows: (1) I review relevant literature and describe theories which may explain state behavior regarding the adoption of constitutional environmental rights; (2) I conduct statistical tests on five independent variables — International Civil Society Influence, Regional Diffusion, Human Rights Legacy, Natural Resources Dependency, and Monetary Incentives — to determine which factors offer the greatest explanatory value for the phenomenon observed; and (3) I summarize results of the analysis and offer conclusions. I argue that norm socialization and transnational activism offer more explanatory purchase than domestic politics and rationalist-materialist considerations in understanding the trend toward constitutionalization of environmental rights. I find that the enactment of constitutional environmental rights is most significantly associated with International Civil Society Influence and Regime Characteristics, a control variable.

Keywords: human rights, constitutions, diffusion, natural resources, foreign aid, civil society, democracy, international norms, transnational advocacy, survival analysis