Experimental Methods in Global Environmental Politics

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

The field of global environmental politics has grown exponentially in recent years, generating myriad theoretical insights about how people around the world organize and respond to environmental problems. Our panel brings together a group of papers demonstrating how the use of cutting-edge experimental methods can facilitate this theoretical development, in three ways. First, the use of experimental methods allows for the development of new environmental politics theories in previously under-studied settings. For example, Hunnicutt and Johnson investigate the role of informal governance in solid waste management in post-conflict Liberia, through a field-based conjoint experiment. Second, experimental methods enable researchers to rigorously test whether the observable implications of existing theories extend to increasingly salient environmental problems and policy solutions. To that point, Constantino et al. rely on two conjoint experiments to test whether the public will depart from partisan norms about the role of government when it comes to reducing climate-related risks. Uji et al. alternatively deploy a survey experiment in Thailand to test whether existing theories about investment explain variation in public preferences for locally versus foreign-owned waste-to-energy projects, which are increasingly proposed to curb alarming levels of plastic pollution. Third, the coordinated application of experimental methods enables researchers to characterize the external validity of existing theories precisely. For example, Kuehl uses survey experiments to understand preferences toward global environmental cooperation across the United States, UK, and India – three distinct institutional contexts. Overall, given the diversity of settings, techniques, and topics its papers examine, the panel will facilitate learning about the varied application of experimental methods in global environmental politics and the impact of these within the broader field.

Sub Unit

• Division 39: Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics

Individual Presentations

• Informal Political Elites and Environmental Service Provision after Conflict - Patrick Hunnicutt, Chapman University; Kou Gbaintor-Johnson, Center for Action Research and Training

• Penalty or Premium of Foreign Ownership? Support for Waste-to-Energy Plants - Azusa Uji, Kyoto University; Jaehyun Song, Kansai University; Nives Dolsak, University of Washington; Aseem Prakash, University of Washington

• Protection or Coercion? Public Preferences for Government Buyout Programs - Sara Constantino, Northeastern University; Alicia Dailey Cooperman, George Washington University; Megan Mullin, University of California, Los Angeles

• Cooperation under Uncertainty: The Roots of Global Environmental Agreements - Colin Kuehl, Northern Illinois University

Chair

• Colin Kuehl Northern Illinois University

Discussant

• Patrick Hunnicutt Chapman University