According to the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index, Australia was ranked as the worst-performing country on climate change policy. The country has an ambivalent record of climate policy development as well as implementation, and has been criticized for its inaction. This paper considers why the country has been locked in climate policy “paralysis” through analyzing defining attributes of such a paralysis, and the tentative connections between domestic energy policies and international trade and development. We conducted a media content analysis of 222 articles and identified media narratives in three cases of energy projects in the country involving thermal coal exports, domestic renewable energy storage, and closure of a domestic coal power station. The analysis reveals that policy paralysis in Australian climate change policy can be traced back to the countervailing arguments that have been pervasive around domestic energy security, rural employment and international energy poverty. The political establishment has struggled to develop a sustainable consensus on climate change and the citizenry remains polarized. We also discuss how a “focusing event,” such as a major natural disaster can break the impasse but this is only possible if energy security at home, energy poverty abroad and employment imperatives across the board are clearly delineated, measured and prioritized.

Due to historical grievances, Armenia and Turkey experience severe international conflicts and do not maintain diplomatic ties. Yet, as a vestige of the Soviet period, when Armenia was not an independent country, both nations share the Arpacay/Akhuryan Dam, and riparian cooperation exists at the local level. We observed that local cross-border water institutions are authorized to manage the dam and do so via polycentric management principles. We suggest that such a devolved model of governance facilitates this unique cooperation. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between private management of water resources in such areas and the ability to sustain cooperation. However, so far, the positive impacts of this cooperation on improving international relations have been little, if any. We suggest that what makes cooperation possible in this context also inhibits its expansion to broader peacebuilding. We also suggest that increased localization of management, coincident with improved relations, maximizes cooperation potential.

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Many major rivers discharge into the Black Sea and bring major nutrient pollution, leading to rapid plant growth and eutrophication impacts in the ecosystem. Yet, the Black Sea cannot replace the lost oxygen during this process due to its natural conditions, such as low salinity, low density, very limited connection to larger seas and oceans, and low vertical and horizontal circulation. This resulted in about 90% of the sea to have anaerobic conditions and caused serious consequences on almost every aspect of life for basin countries. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the riparian countries that recharge the sea began cooperating to address the pollution problem despite numerous international conflicts they had had with each other. Some progress has been made so far, but tense diplomatic relations persist. Little improvement of international relations has taken place in the region due to environmental cooperation. This study seeks, based on a range of interviews with stakeholders and archival research, to understand how this environmental cooperation initiated and survived despite the diplomatic impasse. Moreover, it seeks ways to improve the effectiveness of the cooperation and translate this cooperation to improvement of the international relations among the riparians. As part of the solution, this study suggests giving more authority to the local level institutions handling day-to-day management of the Black Sea. This research is of special interest for government workers employed at units that handle international water management, policymakers focusing on environmental policies, and members of academia conducting relevant research.