Can Regional Cooperation Promote Sustainable Development?

Siegel, Karen M.

Abstract

This chapter argues that regional cooperation may be a promising framework to work towards sustainable development. There are two broad pathways linking regional cooperation and sustainable development. On the one hand, shared or transboundary socio-environmental concerns may spark regional cooperation and on the other, pre-existing regional organisations created for other purposes become frameworks to address sustainability concerns. Yet, neither of these processes is automatic and whether they take place depends on the existence of particular drivers pursuing a sustainability agenda at the regional level. Ultimately, whether regional cooperation fosters sustainable development and how this takes place thus depends to a large extent on the specific people or organisations driving a sustainability agenda at the regional level and their relationship to national governments.

Citation

Siegel, K. M. (2016). Can Regional Cooperation Promote Sustainable Development?. In J. Grugel, & D. Hammett (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of International Development, 713-730. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-42724-3_39

• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jun 11, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 11, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 18, 2016
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Pages: 713-730
• Book Title: The Palgrave Handbook of International Development
• Chapter Number: 39
• ISBN: 978-1-137-42723-6; 978-1-137-42724-3
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-42724-3_39
• Keywords: regional cooperation, sustainable development, environmental governance, socio-environmental concerns,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/305135