International Environmental Regimes: Legalisation,Flexibility and Effectiveness

In one of the first quantitative designs, we explore the impact of both legalisation and flexibility on regime effectiveness, using data on international environmental institutions. One of the main implications is that ‘precision’ is an important determinant of regime performance. If the rule and norm system is well defined, well understood and clear, then a regime tends to be more effective in addressing an environmental problem. We do not find evidence, however, that ‘hard law’ is more effective than ‘soft law’ or that delegation mechanisms may be relevant. Second, flexibility in the regime structure increases regime performance – regular instead of subsidiary bodies enhance flexibility and thus have a positive effect on a regime's environmental problem management. Flexibility in states' agenda setting power, membership and decision making do not seem to have a crucial influence, though.