International norms and Chinese environmental governance

Abstract

<p>The extent to which states incorporate or 'localise' international obligations and norms into their domestic political and legal environment has become a salient issue with the proliferation of international agreements and norms. China in particular has been a source of much consideration with its increasing international economic and political importance. International norms are shared expectations or standards of appropriate behaviours for actors in international community. China's incorporation of international norms into domestic practices and as part of its foreign policy can significantly impact an international policy or normative agenda. Moreover, because China is a relative newcomer to international society and in many ways ascribes to Westphalian state-centric notion of sovereignty and more insular notion of human, political and social rights, an investigation of how norms are incorporated into Chinese domestic system provides a window into the norm localisation process overall.</p>