LONG BITTER ENEMIES NO MORE: IENGO CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS AS A NEW PATHWAY TO INFLUENCE IN GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

This dissertation examines how partnerships between leading environmental non-governmental organizations (IENGOs) and corporations shape the agency of nonstate actors in global politics. It contributes to the growing scholarship on non-substantialist approaches to the concept of agency in International Relations (IR) by analyzing how interactions between nonstate actors can influence their ability to act and exert influence in global politics. The central concept of agency reconfiguration is introduced. This concept argues that IENGO-corporate partnerships can create opportunities for nonstate actors to gain new capacities and influence in global politics. However, it also acknowledges potential trade-offs associated with such partnerships. To explore this concept, the dissertation first maps the landscape of IENGO-corporate partnerships. This includes a comprehensive list of corporate partners for four leading IENGOs (Greenpeace, EDF, FoE, and WWF), how these partnerships have evolved over time, and a typology of partnership structures. Finally, a process tracing approach is used to examine a specific case: the partnership between Greenpeace and Foron, a former German appliance manufacturer. Within-case evidence is used to link the events from the formation of the partnership to Greenpeace's agency reconfiguration, which ultimately positioned Greenpeace as a central actor in ozone governance, particularly the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.