North-South aspects of the climate change issue: towards a negotiating theory and strategy for developing countries

This paper argues that because US ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been made dependent on developing country participation, and because other developed countries are unlikely to ratify until the US does so, the ball has been put in the court of the developing countries. This has put the South and all its member groups into the ironical position of being held responsible for the failure of the regime. Should they take a defensive or a constructive approach to dealing with this issue? This paper analyses the circumstances under which developing countries negotiate, the nature of their negotiating position and the key elements of their position. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a defensive and constructive negotiating strategy for the developing countries in relation to the potential negotiation outcome. It does so using an ideal typical analytical framework.