Politics of Self-Governance under the Paris Agreement? Explaining the Emergence of Sub-state Actorness in Climate Change
Considering the institutionalization of climate governance beyond the central state and the growing trends of subnational climate action, this research aims to identify the assertion of sub-state actorness within the Paris Climate Agreement. sub-state actorness is understood as the affirmation of sub-state entities as global actors in climate matters whereby policy networks are strategically used to implement the goals of reducing greenhouse gases. The gain of influence can be understood in light of two logics. Firstly, there is a functionalist logic that conceives the participation of substate authorities in global governance for the efficient delivery of international targets which states cannot provide alone. The second logic is the demand for ‘self-governance’ by substate authorities as competing with the centrality of states in global governance. In sum, the goal is to contribute to unravel emerging dynamics of global governance.
