EXPLAINING THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA: FRAMES AND POWER IN POLITICS by STEVEN ...

254 Pages·2010·2.78 MB·English

EXPLAINING THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA:
FRAMES AND POWERIN POLITICS
by
STEVENBARRYROTHMAN
A DISSERTATION
Presented to the Department ofPolitical Science
and the Graduate School ofthe University ofOregon
inpartial fulfillment ofthe requirements
for the degree of
Doctor ofPhilosophy
September 2009
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University ofOregon Graduate School
Confirmation ofApproval and Acceptance ofDissertation prepared by:
Steven Rothman
Title:
"Explaining the International Agenda: Frames and Power in Politics"
This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for
the degree inthe Department ofPolitical Science by:
Ronald Mitchell, Chairperson, Political Science
Craig Parsons, Member, Political Science
Lars Skalnes, Member, Political Science
Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt
and Richard Linton, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies/Dean ofthe Graduate
School for the University ofOregon.
September 5, 2009
Original approval signatures are on file withthe Graduate School and the University ofOregon
Libraries.
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AnAbstract ofthe Dissertation of
StevenB. Rothman for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy
inthe Department ofPolitical Science to be taken September 2009
Title: EXPLAINING THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA: FRAMES AND POWERIN
POLITICS
Approved:
Ronald B. Mitchell
The use ofrhetoric to frame policy issues ofteninfluencesthe amountofattention
countries payto international issues andthe level ofsupportforthose issues. Often,
domestic and international actorspresentdifferent descriptions ofpolicy issues inorderto
advance theirownviews and changethe international agenda. Despite frequent attempts to
changethe international agendaandthe importance ofagendas for policy formation, our
understanding ofthe factors thatcontributeto why particularissues getinternational
attention is limited. This projectdevelops atheoretical understanding ofthe development
ofthe international agenda, howissues onthatagendaare framed, and why agendas change
overtime. The projectcontributesto international relations theory by understanding the
factors responsible for increasing attention to issues, and the factors thatinfluencehow
states define the problems onthe international agendathatmay eventually becomepartof
international treaties and organizations. The projectredefines agendas through a
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constructivist approach where individuals interpretrealphenomenathrough frames.
Rhetoric's influence onagendachanges described inthis project also demonstrates a
mechanism through whichthe softpowerofattractionchangesinternational outcomes.
The projecttakes a positivistapproachto analyzing constructivistand realistcauses of
agendachanges. The projecttests specific implications ofthese theories ofinternational
agenda developmentand issue framing by examiningthe case ofinternational efforts to
address whaling. The projectdemonstrates the importance ofpolarityinenabling changes
inattention from securityto non-securityissues and the importance ofrhetoric incausing
changes inissue frames.
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CURRICULUMVITAE
NAME OF AUTHOR: Steven Barry Rothman
PLACE OF BIRTH: Buffalo, New York
DATE OF BIRTH: May 14,1977
GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:
University ofOregon, Eugene, Oregon
University ofDelaware,Newark, Delaware
DEGREES AWARDED:
Doctor ofPhilosophy, Political Science, September 2009, University ofOregon
Master ofScience, Political Science, 2006, University ofOregon
BachelorofArts, Political Science andEconomics, 1999, University ofDelaware
AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:
International Relations
Research Design and Methodology
DecisionMaking
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Instructor, University ofOregon, Eugene, 2007-2009
Research Assistant, University ofOregon, Eugene, 2007-2008
Teaching Assistant, University ofOregon, Eugene, 2006-2008
Research Project Manager, Ronald B. Mitchell, Eugene, Oregon 2004-2007
Program Coordinator and Academic Advisor, Office ofInternational Affairs,
University ofOregon, Eugene, 2004
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GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS:
Rozanne EnersonJunker Scholarship Award, University ofOregon, 2007, 2008
Charles A. Reed Graduate Fellowship Award, University ofOregon, 2008
John L. and Naomi M. Luvaas Fellowship in Arts and Sciences, University of
Oregon, 2006-2007
Institute on Qualitative Research Methods Fellowship, University ofOregon,
2006
PUBLICATIONS:
Duggan, E., & Rothman, S. B. (2008, Feb 3). Peakoil: Will we see it coming?Register
Guard, p. B3,
Rothman, S. B. (2008). Comparatively evaluatingpotential dissertation and thesis
projects. PS: Political Science & Politics, 41(2),367-369.
Rothman, S. B. (2007). Understanding dataquality through reliability: A comparison of
datareliability assessment from three treaty datasets. InternationalStudies
Review, 9(3),437-456.
Mitchell, R. B., & Rothman, S. B. (2007). International agreement coding manual:
Formatted for coders, trainers, and trainees (version 1.0). from
http://iea.uoregon.edu/pages/CodingManual.Vl.pdf
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This projectbenefited from the extremely valuable assistance and advice from my
dissertation committee: Ronald Mitchell, Lars Skalnes, Craig Parsons, Jean Stockard, and
Bob O'Brien. I would specifically like to thank Jean Stockard for her generosity and
flexibility. I am especially grateful to Ronald Mitchell for his tolerance, patience,
constant engagement, rapidresponses, and valuable critical feedback to improve all my
work and advancement in academia. I wouldnot have been as successful without Ron's
instrumental feedback and willingness to serve as my mentor, critic, and advisor. I also
appreciate the help John Orbell has provided, his always valuable support, and advice on
navigating the complexities ofacademia.
Various conferencepanelists and anonymous reviewers provided important
feedback for this project. I appreciate assistance from the presenters at the Institute on
Qualitative Research Methods, Frank Alcock, Jennifer Bailey, Elizabeth Bloodgood,
Michael Cairo, Charli Carpenter, Charles Chester, Anne Marie Clark, Michael Dyer,
Charlotte Epstein, Christopher Gore, WilliamMuck,Kate O'Neill, MJ Peterson, Jack
Porter, StuartShulman, Joshua Stapel, DG Webster, Inger Weibust, others onthe GEP
ED listserv, andthe graduate students and faculty at the University ofOregon.
I would also like to give gratitude to my family who have listened to my
monologues on frames and constructions with skepticism and helped me clarify my
argumentation. Finally, I express my deepest appreciation to Reiko, without whom I
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would have never had the strength and will to completethis project, for all her sacrifices
and assistance to make this projectpossible.
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In Memory ofNathanRothman
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Why Is the International AgendaImportant? 6
Why Are Frames andNon-State Actors Important? 14
ProjectMethodology...... 16
II. CONCEPTUALIZING THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA AND ISSUE
FRAMES 25
What Is the International Agenda? ." 26
Defining Issue Importance 32
J\Jumber ofStates 33
Strength ofStates 35
Depth ofConcern 36
What Is an Issue? 39
What Are Frames? 42
Frame Types: Umecognized, Contested, and Dominant.... 46
What Is the Content ofFrames? 50
Conclusions 58
III. CAUSES OF CHANGES IN THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA 60
Why Does the International Agenda Change? 62
Material Causes ofChanges inthe International Agenda 63
Issue Importance and State Interest 64
Power Distribution and Contestation and Dominance over the
International Agenda 68
Rhetorical Causes ofChanges in the International Agenda 71
Blame and Causal Characteristics 73
Victimization and Consequence Characteristics 74
International Exposure 76