Abstract

This chapter reviews research on the interaction between the European Union (EU) and international environmental institutions. After an overview of the EU’s role in global environmental governance, we analyse the literature on this interaction in two steps. First, we highlight the various subjects/themes studied before presenting, secondly, the theoretical approaches and concepts that have been used to study these subjects and themes. Attention is paid to the foundations of the literature (do research questions stem from a certain normative perspective?), research methods employed (quantitative or qualitative? single or comparative case study approaches?) and the findings (do some findings contradict each other? what is their degree of generalisability to other areas of EU external action?). To conclude, the chapter suggests avenues for future research, based on gaps that have become apparent in the analysis of the existing literature.