Multilateralism of the Marginal: Least Developed Countries and International Climate Negotiations, 1995–2016

Abstract

Multilateral deliberations are important sites for structuring political relations between countries from the Global North and the Global South. While outcomes of deliberations often reaffirm relations of hegemony and dependence, recent studies demonstrate that marginal actors sometimes leverage international rules and norms to thwart dominant political rationales. Using summary reports of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings from 1995 to 2016, the authors leverage computational techniques to examine shifts in national delegates’ positionality and policy preoccupations in these negotiations. After talks briefly collapsed in 2009, traditionally weak nations emerged as subtle but influential players in setting the international climate agenda. The authors claim this surprising outcome is possible because marginal actors cultivated a specific style of deliberation that the authors call “persuading from the periphery.” Building from textual traces, the authors identify a repertoire of relational and discursive strategies these countries use to reconfigure the social and symbolic structure of negotiations.