| Abstrakt: |
International cooperation is a puzzling problem for social scientists. Protection of the ozone layer has been subject to both international treaties and domestic legislation. The Montreal Protocol is one ofthe foremost success stories in international relations, yet it remains insufficiently understood. In this paper, I argue that existing approaches do not do justice to the empirical evidence. Conventional wisdom has it that either economic causes-the search for oligopoly profits by a chemical firm-or cognitive causes-the consensus of an epistemic community-led to the international agreement to protect the ozone layer. I find both explanations wanting. 1 present an alternative approach that, rather than focusing on structural variables, tries to follow the historical events, thus emphasizing the dynamic aspects. Iargue that, over time, one of two rivaling policy networks gained hegemony over the other, mainly by winning over allies from the competing network. Ultimately, this contributed to the competing network's breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
