Hierarchy in Regime Complexes: Understanding Authority in Antarctic Governance

International Studies Quarterly

45 Pages Posted: 19 Apr 2021

See all articles by Jessica F. Green

Jessica F. Green

University of Toronto - Department of Political Science

Date Written: April 13, 2021

Abstract

Many scholars argue regime complexes are non-hierarchical. But if that is true, then how does authority function? This paper argues that the conceptualization of regime complexes as largely devoid of hierarchy is mistaken. Instead, it offers a new definition of regime complexes: emergent patterns of authority among state and non-state actors, which vary in their degree of hierarchy. Hierarchy in regime complexes looks different from political scientists’ traditional conceptualization. It is systemic, emergent and positional. I present two dimensions of variation in hierarchy: deference and autonomy. These dimensions provide both a conceptual and empirical strategy for understanding how authority relations are constituted. Conceptually, they allow us to “see” hierarchy in regime complexes. Empirically, they provide transparent, replicable and variable measures, which have eluded much of the work to date. I use topic modeling coupled with network analysis to detect hierarchy in the regime complex for Antarctica. I demonstrate that the inclusion of non-state actors and their governance activities changes our understanding of the Antarctic regime complex. This approach reveals a hierarchical regime complex, where some non-state actors have considerable authority, and are governing issues not regulated by formal rules.

Keywords: regime complexes, global governance, Antarctica, authority, private authority

Suggested Citation

Green, Jessica F., Hierarchy in Regime Complexes: Understanding Authority in Antarctic Governance (April 13, 2021). International Studies Quarterly, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3825677

Jessica F. Green (Contact Author)

University of Toronto - Department of Political Science ( email )

Sidney Smith Hall
100 St George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://green.faculty.politics.utoronto.ca/

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