CLIMATE CHANGE GOVERNANCE IN A POLYCENTRIC GLOBAL ORDER: A MULTI-LEVEL POWER STRUGGLE

Abstract

Climate change governance has increasingly evolved beyond a state-centric and hierarchical policy domain into a fragmented, multi-actor, and multi-level governance landscape. This transformation has coincided with the emergence of a polycentric global order in which authority, rule-making, and implementation are distributed across multiple and partially autonomous governance centers. While existing scholarship often associates polycentric and multi-level governance with flexibility, innovation, and enhanced cooperation, this article argues that such perspectives insufficiently account for the power relations embedded within contemporary climate governance arrangements.

This article conceptualizes climate change governance as a multi-level power struggle situated within a polycentric global order. It advances a theoretical framework that places power at the analytical core of climate governance by distinguishing three interrelated dimensions: distributive power over financial and technological resources, institutional power over rule-setting and standard-making processes, and discursive power over knowledge production and legitimacy. Through a critical synthesis of recent climate governance literature, the article demonstrates how polycentricity and multi-level interactions can reproduce asymmetries among states, non-state actors, and intermediaries rather than inherently generating more inclusive or equitable outcomes.

By reframing climate governance as a contested political arena rather than a neutral coordination mechanism, the article contributes to debates on global environmental governance, polycentric governance, and power in international politics. It offers an analytically integrated perspective that helps explain persistent inequalities and conflicts within climate governance and provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical research.