Federalism, Decentral Governance, and Joint Decision-Making: Bad News for the Implementation of International Environmental Agreements?

This article examines the impact of domestic multilevel governance structures—specifically federalism, decentral governance, and joint decision-making—on the implementation of international environmental agreements, using the Ramsar Wetlands Convention as a case study. Contrary to the prevailing "pessimistic school" in international compliance literature, which views multilevel systems as obstacles due to increased veto points and coordination challenges, the study finds that federalism, defined as subnational decision-making autonomy, positively and significantly enhances implementation in environmental conservation. Financial decentralization and bicameralism (joint decision-making) showed no significant effects in this context. The findings suggest that subnational autonomy allows local governments to act independently and respond to local environmental interests, thereby facilitating implementation, especially in policy areas like wetland protection where local benefits are tangible. The article calls for further comparative research across different environmental policy fields to clarify when multilevel governance structures hinder or help international agreement implementation.