The behavior of states in an international wildlife conservation regime: Japan, Zimbabwe and CITES

This dissertation uses three international relations theoretical frameworks to examine the behavior of Japan and Zimbabwe as participants in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). CITES is a 33 year-old, 128-nation treaty addressing the problem of trade as a threat to wildlife species. The theoretical frameworks are: realism, institutionalism, and Foucauldian discursive analysis.; The case studies focus on the question: under what circumstances, and through what means, does participation in an international regime cause states to change their behavior? Through research including CITES documents; unclassified government documents; analyses by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the media; scholarly and popular books and articles; and interviews with government and NGO representatives, the case studies trace national government decisions regarding the regulation of trade in several endangered species and their products.; The case studies find that CITES participation is often responsible for member state behavior change, and that there are various pathways through which the regime precipitates such changes. But there are limits to the regime's influence; these limits are related in the CITES case to the economic and political significance of the wildlife species in question.; The major empirical finding is that rather than deciding merely whether to comply with regime dictates, member states influence the nature and content of regimes, learning over time to do this more and more effectively. Japan and Zimbabwe are found to be enhancing their leadership positions within CITES, and skillfully using that leadership to alter CITES philosophy and rules over the long run. Such regime-level changes are consistent with Japanese and Zimbabwean government positions on wildlife trade issues.; Taken singly, none of the theoretical frameworks adequately accounts for the empirical findings. By rejecting elements of each theoretical school, and combining remaining useful elements, the dissertation offers an integrated analytical approach. Only the Foucauldian approach is found to account adequately for the reciprocal relationship between regimes and states and the empowerment of states through regime participation. It thus contributes valuable insights to the more traditional realist and institutionalist approaches, and forms a vital component of the integrated approach here offered.