Sustaining Development in Small Islands: Climate Change, Geopolitical Security, and the Permissive Liberal Order (Elements in Earth System Governance) - Softcover

Bishop, Matthew Louis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009389165 ISBN 13: 9781009389167

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2025

Synopsis

The viability of small island developing states (SIDS) is threatened by three distinct processes – a backlash against globalisation; rising geopolitical competition between powers; and accelerating climate change – which are pulling at the threads binding the liberal international order together. We suggest that this order has been kinder to SIDS than is often acknowledged because its underpinning norms – sovereign equality, non-interference, and right to development – are inherently permissive and thus provide SIDS with choices rather than imperatives. Their leaders should fight for the continuation and enhancement of that order rather than be seduced by alternatives. We provide a rationale for and examples of policies to achieve this, including reforms to the way ODA is measured, debt restructured, climate finance allocated, and global governance organised. These enhancements represent the most plausible pathway for SIDS in a period of significant global upheaval. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009389165
• ISBN 13: 9781009389167
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 108