Baltic Sea Environmental Cooperation

Abstract

This article deals with the build-up of institutions for environmental protection by viewing the development of Baltic Sea environmental cooperation from the perspectives of both regime change and transnational epistemic communities. The latter concept views international cooperation as reflecting the knowledge of transnational expert groups, where shared knowledge forms the basis of international cooperation. The concept of international regimes, on the other hand, emphasizes the norms, principles, rules and decision-making procedures which are decided upon by governments. The following conclusions are made from an analysis of the development of Baltic Sea environmental cooperation: the two political turning-points (in the mid-1970s and in the late 1980s) brought about a major change in the form of cooperation. However, during the period between these shifts, expert influence was great. Thus, referring to the terminology of regime theory, we may conclude that the political changes have brought about a change of the regime, whereas the epistemic communities have contributed to a change within the regime. This leads, finally, to the conclusion that regardless of the political context, epistemic communities can have a role to fill in shaping the form of international cooperation.