Sanna Kopra

• Doctor of Social Sciences
• PostDoc Position at University of Lapland

The Sino–Russian relationship is among the key variables of power dynamics in global climate governance and the changing tides of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In this chapter, we focus on how this relationship will shape the implementation of global climate responsibility in the coming years. Taking a future-oriented approach to politics, we examine pl...

Drawing insights from a qualitative content analysis of China’s national climate reports between 2016 and 2019, this article examines the extent to which classical leadership typologies introduced by Oran Young, Arild Underdal, and Raino Malnes in the early 1990s have explanatory power outside of international climate negotiation frameworks. Mode b...

Tämä raportti tarjoaa Suomen pitkän aikavälin turvallisuuspolitiikkaa palvelevan poli- tiikka-analyysin Kiinan arktisista intresseistä ja läsnäolosta turvallisuusstrategian näkö- kulmasta.

This article adopts the theoretical lens of the English School of International Relations (IR) to outline a new Arctic research agenda. In contrast to the more mechanistic approaches used in North American IR, the English School draws from a wider range of scholarship including historical, legal, philosophical, and sociological thinking about inter...

This chapter uses the case of the Arctic and China’s engagement in the Arctic to contribute to a better understanding of the potential and limitations of the power transition, not only in the Arctic, but also more generally. First, it outlines the key characteristics of Arctic politics and governance, with special attention to the Arctic Council. I...

Although China has emerged as an increasingly influential global actor over recent decades, it is unclear whether a more fundamental transformation is shaking processes of regionalisation in this context. Our scenario-based case study considers the spatial reconfiguration of the rapidly globalising Arctic with varying degrees of Chinese engagement....

This chapter relates the concept of great power responsibility to literature addressing leadership in global environmental politics. It proposes that the division between management and leadership offers a nuanced analytical lens to contemplate the ways is which great power responsibility can be conceptualized within the English School of Internati...

Based on the basic premise of the English School theory of International Relations that great powers have a unique responsibility to uphold international peace and security, this chapter examines the ways in which China’s notions of great power responsibility guide its policies in the Arctic. Thereby the chapter seeks to increase our understanding...

Based on the premise that great powers have unique responsibilities, this book explores how China’s rise to great power status transforms notions of great power responsibility in general and international climate politics in particular. The author looks empirically at the Chinese party-state’s conceptions of state responsibility, discusses the infl...

This chapter explores the way China’s rise to great power status transforms the notions of great power responsibility via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It demonstrates that primary institutions of great power management and sovereignty have framed the historical process of the constitution and regulation of climate resp...

This paper analyzes how states have negotiated, distributed, and contested responsibilities within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It applies the English School (ES) theory and argues that climate responsibility constitutes an emerging primary institution of international society. Due to its rising great power st...

By exploring international practice of great power management, this paper examines how the U.S. (an established power) and China (an emerging power) discursively frame great power responsibility in the context of international negotiations on climate politics. Firstly, this paper will argue that the American discourse on "responsible great powerhoo...

During the last decade, there has been much speculation about whether the rise of China will represent a threat or opportunity for the international system. More recently, the debate has sped up with China's growing interest in the Arctic region. To date, China has not unveiled an Arctic strategy, but consistent with its rising global status, it is...

A state’s image is an important resource for wielding national power in global politics. Its prestige and reputation often influence the interactions with other states. As an emerging superpower, China is under pressure to shoulder more responsibility for tackling global climate change. The West has criticized China as a “climate criminal” that thr...