Craig Kauffman

Craig Kauffman’s research investigates how the interaction between actors at the global and subnational levels determines policy responses to environmental challenges such as climate change and the destruction of ecosystems, particularly in less-developed countries. This agenda is driven by four broad questions. First, what are the pathways and processes by which global environmental norms and policies are implemented at the subnational level? Second, how does the interaction between global and local actors determine the success of attempts to reform local governance? Third, how do transnational networks facilitate local actors’ assumption of new powers for environmental management? Fourth, how do negotiations between transnational and local actors shape global environmental governance strategies? Craig is currently exploring these questions through two projects. One compares successful and failed attempts by transnational networks to implement global norms and policies for Integrated Watershed Management at the local level in Latin America. The second analyzes how global REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) programs are implemented at the grassroots level in developing countries. His research has been supported by the Inter-American Foundation, the Rotary Foundation, and the Latin American School of Social Sciences-Ecuador (FLACSO-Ecuador).