Internal Governance Systems Research Articles

Research on Environmental Performance Responsibility and Governance Countermeasures of Chinese Enterprises

In recent years, corporate environmental protection issues have become increasingly prominent. In order to study the performance of environmental protection responsibilities of Chinese enterprises, and analyze the existing problems, the author collected a large amount of corporate environmental protection data from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China and the National Bureau of Statistics, and downloaded the 2018 annual social responsibility reports published by 200 enterprises for empirical research. The analysis shows that the overall development trend of environmental protection in Chinese enterprises is good, but there are still many problems, especially the urgent need to improve the ability of environmental governance, the unwillingness of enterprises to invest in environmental protection, the lack of transparency of environmental information, and the imperfection of internal environmental protection and Governance system. The author gives relevant suggestions from three aspects: strengthening the construction of laws and systems related to environmental protection of enterprises, improving the internal environmental protection governance system, and strengthening supervision of corporate environmental responsibility.

Международные миграции: политико-правовое измерение (International Migration: The Political and Legal Dimension)

Russian Abstract: Международная миграция в сегодняшнем мире имеет столь многообразный, сложный и противоречивый характер, что выработка согласованного подхода к ее регулированию – пожалуй, одна из самых сложных проблем в формирующейся системе международного управления. Прежде всего, существует коллизия между миграционной политикой и международным правом. Миграционная политика считается прерогативой национальных государств, а последние руководствуются императивами «национального эгоизма». Вместе с тем в законодательствах национальных государств закреплены обязательства по защите прав человека, сформулированные в нормах международного права. При всей остроте этой коллизии нельзя утверждать, что она абсолютно неразрешима. Ее решение – всякий раз происходящее ad hoc – заключается в политическом балансировании между прагматическими соображениями и моральными императивами. Характерным примером, выступает решение Ангелы Меркель об отмене Дублинского соглашения в сентябре 2015 года. Целый ряд наблюдателей утверждали, что гуманитарная риторика в момент принятия решения об одномоментном допуске в страну беспрецедентного числа беженцев была не более чем прикрытием вполне рациональной калькуляции. Политико-правовое измерение проблемы заключается также в противостоянии двух установок относительно оптимальной иммиграционной политики: «открытой», «либеральной», с одной стороны, и «закрытой», «нелиберальной», с другой. Олицетворением этих двух полюсов служит спор Ангелы Меркель и Виктора Орбана. English Abstract: International migration is so diverse, complex and controversial that the development of a coherent approach to its regulation is perhaps one of the most difficult problems in the emerging system of international governance. First of all, there is a conflict between migration policy and international law. Migration policy is considered the prerogative of nation-states, and the latter are guided by the imperatives of egoism. At the same time, the laws of national states enshrined the obligations to protect human rights formulated in international law. For all the severity of this collision, it cannot be argued that it is absolutely insoluble. Its solution (which each time occurs ad hoc) consists in balancing between pragmatic egoism and moral imperatives. A typical example of such ad hoc balancing is the decision of Angela Merkel to cancel the Dublin Agreement in September 2015. A number of observers argued that humanitarian rhetoric at the time of the decision to simultaneously allow an unprecedented number of refugees into the country was nothing more than a cover for a perfectly rational calculation. The political and legal dimension of the problem also lies in the opposition of two attitudes regarding the optimal immigration policy: “open”, “liberal”, on the one hand, and “closed”, “illiberal”, on the other. The personification of these two poles is the dispute between Angela Merkel and Victor Orban.

Corporate social responsibility and cost of financing—The importance of the international corporate governance system

AbstractResearch Question/IssueOur study examines whether international corporate governance systems shape the relationship between a firm's engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their cost of financing (both equity and debt).Research Findings/InsightsUsing a large international sample, our findings reveal that although the link between CSR performance and the cost of equity is negative in a shareholder‐oriented system, this relationship is positive in a stakeholder‐oriented system. Furthermore, the link between CSR performance and the cost of debt is negative for firms that are close to default in both systems.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsOur study highlights the importance of considering the shareholder/stakeholder orientation at the country level to explain the link between CSR performance and the cost of financing. Our findings help to explain and place into context the previous mixed findings on the relationship between CSR and the cost of equity and debt and add to the debate about whether CSR is beneficial or detrimental to corporate governance.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThe analysis of how the country corporate governance system influences the effect of CSR performance on the cost of financing allows for a deeper understanding of how investors respond to CSR initiatives worldwide and offers managers, directors, and policy makers context‐specific recommendations. Our analysis also highlights the limitations of transferring insights regarding CSR from one corporate governance system to another.

Reshaping European and national security in a post COVID – 19 context

AbstractThe COVID-19 crisis, undoubtedly, raised a series of questions concerning aspects of national and human security. The crisis impact, per se, tested, in extremis, the medical systems and the political capacity to take swift decisions needed to protect the population. It is a general accepted thesis that the world will face a second wave of effects: economic and systemic. Regarding the last aspect, the current international system is constructed around many principles among them, relevant for our research are, global governance and national sovereignty. The manner in which the two concepts operate was tested during the pandemic. On one hand the international system of global governance failed to ensure a higher level of human security when facing a crisis. On the other hand, states were left to tackle the effects of the pandemic, more or less alone, as the entire international system was paralyzed. In this context state had to turn to classic concepts of national security, egocentric and protectionist, but needed to ensure one of its fundamental functions – providing the security of its citizens.As others crisis are expected to unfold in a domino like effect, redefining national security will be essential for states and regional organizations. But in this process decisions could collide with assumed international obligations. In this context the article explores this impact of the COVID 19 over the how states define their national security concepts. In this context a special attention will be given, as an example, to the industry sector in the context of the green deal, as European states will be pioneering in implementing new standards in climate protection policies that will affect certain sectors of the economy. Rethinking the national security agenda will certainly face aspects which impose the protection of certain sectors that have a higher negative impact over climate change.

Religion after the Royal Commission: Challenges to Religion–State Relations

The findings and recommendations emanating from the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2012–2017) have advised religious organisations that they need to undertake significant changes to legal, governance and cultural/theological practices. The reason for urgency in enacting these changes is that religious organisations were the least child safe institutions across all Australian organisations, with poor practices of transparency, accountability and responsibility coupled with a tendency to protect the reputation of the institution above the safety of children in their care. In Australia, new state laws have been enacted and are impacting on the internal governance systems of religious organisations, including removing the secrecy of the Catholic confessional, instituting mandatory reporting of child abuse by clerics and criminalising the failure to report child sexual abuse. Religious organisations have moved to adopt many of the recommendations regarding their troubled governance including the professionalisation of religious ministry; adoption of professional standards; and appropriate redress for survivors and changes to religious laws. However, these changes signal significant challenges to current church–state relations, which have been characterised by positioning religious organisations as special institutions that enjoy exemptions from certain human rights legislation, on the basis of protecting religious freedom. This article examines and evaluates the nexus between state and religion in Australian public life as it is emerging in a post-Royal Commission environment, and in particular contested claims around the meaning and value of religious freedom versus the necessity of institutional reform to ensure that religious organisations can demonstrate safety for children and other vulnerable groups.

What Do the Palestinians Want?

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 43, No.3, Spring 2020 What Do the Palestinians Want? Sam Bahour* Palestinians’ Strategic Choice Palestinians today, as represented by their political agency ever since the 16th session of the Palestinian National Congress in Algiers in November 1988 and their subsequent issuance of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, have two very straight forward demands: 1. Full rights between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River, including the right for Palestinian refugees to return to their homes; 2. Statehood in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip; post-November 29, 2012, one could claim Palestine has already been codified in the international system of governance and now only requires the extraction of the Israeli military occupation from its lands. If one defines the second point as the Palestinian right to self-determination , then it may be lumped into the first point and, all together, the issue of rights, full rights, is the Palestinian single demand. To some unfamiliar with Palestinian history, this may seem like a lot, however, it is merely a portion of what was taken from them by force over the last seven decades. It is noteworthy to mention that the majority of the world’s peoples and the majority of the world’s countries stand with the Palestinians here; it is the global superpower, the United States, which stands in the way of the achievement of these goals. In the meantime, while the Palestinian struggle remains, Palestinians want to be treated as equal human beings wherever they reside, from the refugee camps in South Lebanon to the refugee camps in South Gaza, and everywhere in between, near and far. Collectively, these demands are the Palestinians’ strategic choice. It is a politically inspired choice, one that was developed on the heels of decades 26 *Sam Bahour serves as a policy adviser to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network and does business consulting in Palestine as Applied Information Management (AIM). He is chair of the board of Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (AVPE) and co-editor of HOMELAND: Oral History of Palestine and Palestinians. He writes frequently on Palestinian affairs and blogs at www.epalestine.com. @SamBahour 27 of emotional reactions to the events imposed upon them. This strategic choice is not etched in stone, it is a product of a distinct Palestinian political system. No one can guarantee that this choice will not be modified or changed if deemed unachievable for any reason. A rights-based approach is the most conducive one to the current Palestinian national agenda and a political end-game cannot be openended . Moreover, the struggle for national self-determination cannot come at the expense of the struggle for rights—and vice versa. These two processes are simultaneous dynamics: one process focuses on the rights of the individual (political, human, and civil), while the second focuses on the rights of the nation (national rights, specifically self-determination). The mutuality of these processes—rights and politics—are two asynchronous and inseparable tracks. One’s personal conviction of what political path the Palestinian leadership should have taken throughout its history is immaterial for this analysis. Until and unless today’s Palestinian political system can reconstitute itself and declare an alternative strategy, it is imperative upon anyone engaged in the imperfect world of realpolitik to accept the current Palestinian political agency’s strategic choice and act accordingly. This current strategic choice of establishing a Palestinian state on 22 percent of British-mandated historic Palestine has international legitimacy and has witnessed the majority of the world’s nations recognizing this “New” State of Palestine based on that international legitimacy. It is therefore not an academic choice, but rather the result of already spent Palestinian political capital that has resulted in a matter of law. Thus, the current polarized discourse about the choice between a onestate solution or a two-state solution is a red herring that has, not innocently, been adopted by the highest level of the powers-to-be at a time when Palestine is systematically being codified and recognized in the international sphere. Simultaneously, the rights of Palestinians cannot remain at the mercy of the need to...

Quality of activities of higher education institutions: regulatory regulation and internal governance system

The article considers the issue of improving the system of higher education institutions internal management. The purpose of the article is to analyze the regulations on the quality of education and the formation on this basis of approaches to improve the system of internal quality management of higher education institutions. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been solved: the legislative acts in terms of regulating the quality of higher education have been analyzed, the interpretation of the quality of education in the relevant Laws of Ukraine has been studied; the concept of the quality system of higher education institutions has been improved; the conceptual bases of improving the management of the system of improving the quality of higher education institutions have been substantiated; the system of measures and procedures used in ensuring the quality of higher education have been studied; the basic components of the decision-making system to ensure the quality of higher education institutions have been identified. The object of the study is the legislation on the management process of improving the quality of higher education institutions. The subject of research is the theoretical and methodological and practical issues of management of the quality assurance system of higher education institutions. The following methods were used in the study: structural-logical analysis - to build the logic and structure of work; system analysis and synthesis - to study the essence of the subject of study; system approach - to improve the system-targeted approach to the management of the system of improving the quality of higher education institutions. In this article, based on the analysis of the relevant legal framework, the provisions on the management of the internal system of quality assurance of higher education institutions in the context of improving the methodological foundations of such management have been further developed, the system of measures and procedures used to improve the quality of higher education decision-making systems to ensure the quality of higher education institutions has been analyzed. In the format of the practical significance of the works, it is possible to determine the possibility of their use in the management of higher education institutions of all forms of ownership in order to achieve the appropriate quality of their results.

LAS PLATAFORMAS DIGITALES DE TRABAJO: ¿ES NECESARIA UNA REGULACIÓN INTERNACIONAL?

espanolLas plataformas laborales de trabajo, alojadas en Internet, permiten la contratacion de trabajo en tiempo real para multitud de tareas, desde la programacion al diseno grafico o tareas administrativas rutinarias. La facilidad, flexibilidad y bajo coste de subcontratar trabajo a traves de estas plataformas digitales explican su crecimiento, que se preve que continue en el futuro. Sin embargo, estas actividades en linea suponen importantes retos regulatorios que no pueden ser abordados unicamente mediante respuestas nacionales. Reconociendo estas dificultades, la Comision Mundial de la OIT sobre el Futuro del Trabajo recomendo el establecimiento de un sistema de gobernanza internacional que pudiera establecer y requerir a las plataformas digitales - y a sus clientes - respetar ciertos derechos minimos y proteccion para todos los trabajadores de plataformas. Este articulo discute las perspectivas y retos inherentes en las plataformas digitales internacionales en linea para los trabajadores, operadores y reguladores, y formula propuestas para el establecimiento de un marco regulatorio internacional para estas nuevas formas de trabajo. EnglishWeb-based, digital labour platforms permit the real-time hiring of labour for a myriad of tasks from IT programming to graphic design to routine clerical tasks. The ease, flexibility and low-cost of outsourcing work to digital labour platforms has resulted in their growth, and this growth is likely to continue in the future. Yet these online activities pose important regulatory challenges that cannot effectively be addressed solely through national responses. Recognizing these difficulties, the ILO’s Global Commission on the Future of Work called for an international governance system for digital labour platforms that could set and require platforms, and their clients, to respect certain minimum rights and protections for all workers. This paper will discuss the prospects and challenges inherent in cross-border, web-based, digital labour platforms for workers, operators, and regulators and put forward possibilities for establishing an international regulatory framework for these new forms of work.

Earnings quality and internal control in bank-dominated corporate governance

This study examines the relationship between internal governance and earnings management in Japanese listed firms. Following recent accounting fraud in large companies, Japanese internal governance systems have been widely criticized. Japan has a bank-dominated corporate governance system. This study predicts that the bank–client relationship mitigates opportunistic earnings management by reducing the degree of information asymmetry. The results show that bank-appointed audit board members mitigate managerial earnings management. Neither outside directors nor audit committees help reduce opportunistic managerial earnings management. The findings imply that a lender monitoring system can substitute the monitoring role of outside directors and audit committees.

Addressing the Auditor Independence Puzzle: Regulatory Models and Proposal for Reform

Auditors play a major role in corporate governance and capital markets. Ex ante, auditors facilitate firms’ access to finance by fostering trust among public investors. Ex post, auditors can prevent misbehavior and financial fraud by corporate insiders. In order to fulfill these goals, however, in addition to having the adequate knowledge and expertise, auditors must perform their functions in an independent manner. However, auditors are often subject to conflicts of interest, for example, resulting from the provision non-audit services, but also because of the mere fact of being hired and paid by the audited company. Therefore, even if auditors act independently, investors may have reason to think otherwise. Policymakers and scholars around the world have attempted to solve the auditor independence puzzle through a variety of mechanisms, including prohibitions and rotation requirements. More recent proposals have also included breaking up audit firms and the empowerment of shareholders. This paper argues that none of these solutions is entirely convincing. Drawing from the corporate governance, law and economics, and accounting literatures, we propose a new model to solve the auditor independence puzzle. Our proposal is based on four pillars. First, we argue that, in the context of controlled firms, auditors should be elected with a majority-of-the-minority vote. Second, while auditors in many jurisdictions are subject to certain temporal prohibitions to be hired by previous clients, we propose that the length of these temporal prohibitions should be extended. Moreover, regulators should also restrict the type of services potentially provided to the audit client. Third, policymakers must pay closer attention to the internal governance and compensation systems of audit firms. We argue that increased transparency of audit firms is essential to enhance the independence of auditors. Finally, studies have shown that audit committees often fail to perform their monitoring functions, a major reason being the influence of corporate insiders on the committee. For this reason, we propose to increase the power and presence of public investors in the audit committee.

Implementation of IFRS in Japan: An Analysis of Voluntary Adoption by Listed Firms

Since 2010 Japanese listed firms can voluntarily use international financial reporting standards for their consolidated financial statements. Using financial and non-financial data, we carry out a comprehensive research into the adopters’ determinants. We employ a multi-period logit model that considers every annual decision made along the period 2010-2019. We find that the having outside networks through subsidiaries and a strong internal corporate governance system are key factors. We also confirm a contagion effect. Finally, our results suggest that goodwill is also relevant, since only Japanese accounting standards require annual amortization.

Minilateralism and informality in international monetary cooperation

The 1970s marked the beginnings of a transition to a variegated system of international monetary governance that featured a mixture of multilateral and minilateral forums with both formal and informal characteristics. The emergence of two new forums for international cooperation – the Group of Five (G5) and Group of Seven (G7) – alongside the legacy organizations of the Bretton Woods conference represented a novel and unexpected development. With their emphases on minilateralism and informality, the two new forums stood in stark contrast to the multilateral and formal International Monetary Fund, which had been the focal organization in the international monetary system since the 1940s. The new forums were not intended to be durable innovations and yet they became quickly institutionalized. This article examines the contributions of agency-centered, structural, and institutional theories to fuller understandings of patterns of institutional innovation in international cooperation and, more specifically, to why the transition to a variegated international monetary system took place. Based on research in official and private archives, it concludes that informal minilateralism emerged incrementally through diplomatic practice in response to failures within the formal legacy organizations of the Bretton Woods system. It further argues that the new forums produced unanticipated feedback effects that enhanced support among member governments and contributed to the two forums becoming durable features of the international monetary system despite senior government officials originally having no such intentions.

Emergence of Familiness and Family Owned Business Performance

This article explores the concept of familiness in family-owned businesses (FOBs), identifying how families generate their own resources for business performance. Applying the resource-based view, the authors examined seven Myanmar businesses. Findings revealed that two factors influence familiness in Myanmar FOB: family unity and internal governance systems, which can be subdivided into traditional and collective systems. Moreover, evaluation revealed that FOB's business performance was affected by different family attitudes. A combination of family unity and a traditional internal governance system was conducive to controlling the internal business capabilities, whereas creating external opportunities were considered more effective for a combination of family unity and a collective internal governance system. Findings suggest that familiness emerges through embedded family resources that incorporates a sense of awareness with abilities for business advantages. These empirical results can provide insights and inputs that can help small and medium-sized FOBs safeguard their future.

The relation between product market competition and corporate tax avoidance: evidence from Korea

This paper examines the effect of industry-wide factors such as product market competition on corporate tax avoidance. Specifically, the focus is on the moderating role of corporate governance in the relationship between product market competition and tax avoidance. To conduct an empirical analysis, a sample of public companies that are listed on the Korea Stock Exchange between 2001 and 2016 is used. The empirical analyses provide the following results. First, product market competition is negatively related to tax avoidance. This suggests that competitive markets act as external corporate governance mechanisms and discipline managers to decrease tax avoidance. Second, the negative association between product market competition and tax avoidance is more pronounced for firms with more independent board of directors and firms with audit committee consisting of outside directors. These findings imply that product market competition acts more effectively when the firm has strong internal governance mechanisms such as board independence and audit committee independence. Therefore, we provide evidence on a complementary relationship between internal governance system and product market competition. The results may be of interest to policy makers and regulators like Korea Fair Trade Commission and Financial Supervisory Service who are involved in promoting market competition, monitoring any abuse of market dominance, and supervising financial reporting quality.

Domestic Socioeconomic Barriers to Hydropower Trading: Evidence from Bhutan and Nepal

Bhutan has increased exports of surplus hydropower generation, whereas Nepal has been suffering from domestic power shortages. Why has Bhutan successfully promoted hydropower development and exports, while Nepal has failed to do so? This paper focuses on inherent development barriers that stem from domestic power supply, internal governance systems, and indigenous societal sensitivity. There are lessons to be learned from Bhutan’s practices that could be applied in Nepal. First, hydropower development can be severely affected by electricity scarcity that arises when power export is privileged over domestic power supply. Nepal has fallen into this negative loop, whereas Bhutan has overcome it through policy interventions that ensure visible links between power exports and domestic power consumption. Second, the sector reforms in the two countries contrast in terms of institutional, operational, and financial efficiency. Without fundamental reforms, Nepal’s sector-wide inefficiency fuels a vicious circle. Third, local resource conflicts and social complexities have made Nepal’s hydropower projects more complicated than Bhutan’s. In planning hydropower projects, it is crucial to pay careful attention to domestic stakeholders and local benefits. Planners and governments must ensure that projects are designed with extensive benefit sharing mechanisms, sustainable value chains, effective sector reforms, and sufficient societal conflict management.

Treating Infertility: Current Affairs of Cross-border Reproductive Care.

Infertility patients are willing to travel abroad to receive the medical treatment of choice. A 2010 study reported that approximately 25,000 couples travel abroad annually seeking infertility treatment. The purpose of this review is to analyze the criteria and risks related to cross-border reproductive care (CBRC) from the perspective of the patients and explore the issues raised regarding the country of origin and the destination country. A computerized search was performed in PubMed employing respective keywords. The total number of published articles provided by our PubMed search was 1905. Criteria for selecting the destination country include: the economic status, legislation, quality of care and anonymity. Despite the fact that CBRC is becoming a familiar concept, it raises concerns for the practitioner and issues of a social and bioethical nature. Most of them stem from the fact that health care acquires a commercialization aspect. Medical tourism entails several risks, such as misconceptions regarding the destination country, and legal issues arising from differences in the judiciary systems. Larger studies evaluating all aspects of CBRC are imperative. Quality assurance, a consensus and a common platform of practice, along with a system of international governance based on human rights, are a necessity for CBRC patients.

Global Energy Interconnection: an innovative solution for implementing the Paris Agreement—the significance and pathway of integrating GEI into global climate governance

There has been great concern in the international community as to whether the Paris Agreement will effectively maintain the average global temperature increase below 2 °C from pre-industrial levels. When the nationally determined contributions (NDC) of the various state parties are added, it is clear that a gap remains. Thus, UNFCCC COP21 called upon all state parties and non-state actors to take additional actions to reduce emissions beyond NDCs in order to eliminate this gap. Against the background of energy consumption transformation and climate governance, Global Energy Interconnection (GEI), which features an innovative combination of advanced technologies such as clean energy, global connectivity, and ultra-high voltage transmission, offers a new option for global prosperity and growth with fewer emissions, lower economic costs, and a safer climate. However, it takes time for the international community to fully recognize, accept, and support GEI and the relevant organizations. Therefore, GEI organizations should take the initiative to reach out to the international climate governance system based on its characteristics of multiple tiers, circles, and poles enabling exchange of technology, funding, and projects in order to win widespread support for GEI and facilitate joint implementation. Only in this way will GEI bring further economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Policy Recommendations for the Implementation of 'One Data' Policy at Sub-National Level in Indonesia.

The Indonesian One Data policy is designed to improve internal government data management practices by providing a regulatory framework concerning organizational structure, including the roles, tasks, and responsibilities of each actor. It also specifies mechanisms to ensure the preparation, collection, and/or processing of data that meets data standards, the application of metadata according to the standard format, and dissemination of data according to principles of data interoperability. The central question addressed by this research is what do local governments need in order to implement or align themselves with the anticipated One Data Policy? To address this question, we designed a research study with three integrated methodological approaches that can provide insights into internal data governance systems in local government; (1) a context readiness assessment to look into current data management ecosystems, (2) a review of key governments datasets, and (3) a data journey modelling for health data to identify challenges and barriers impacting sub-national implementation of the One Data Policy. This report summarises the findings and recommendations based on the study conducted at the City Government of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Complex Governance for the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene presents formidable governance challenges, not only in terms of the large uncertainties that surround the impact of humans on the biosphere, but also because it is occurring at a time of profound transformations in international politics. This article builds on the recent literature on complex systems and international environmental politics and identifies some of the core elements of thinking about governance in the Anthropocene. After a brief reminder of the characteristics of a complex system and the challenges that this poses to some of the existing doxa, it proceeds with a discussion of key elements of the system, of aspects of its operation, and of the goals that one should pursue in terms of system dynamics. Approaching the governance of the Anthropocene as a complex system allows us to shape much of current research in IR into a coherent whole, as well as identify the contours of a global international governance system of the environment that takes advantage of the dynamics of the system rather than courting failure by attempting to simplify it.

Research strategies to assess the effectiveness of international environmental regimes

Despite decades of international efforts to enhance global environmental governance, sustainability issues requiring action beyond single states persist. How can we create international environmental governance systems (typically called regimes) that are successful in addressing problems such as climate change and the loss of biological diversity? What skills do we need to design regimes that are responsive to these challenges? Reflecting on years of research on environmental regimes, this Perspective identifies promising research strategies for continuing efforts to answer these questions (for example, diagnostic procedures and alternative ideas on effectiveness) in a manner that promotes productive relations between academics and practitioners.