A force for environmental good?

The failure of the Doha Round negotiations in mid-2006 created a domino effect for the global trade arena. Discussions to collectively open up markets around the world collapsed, and so did efforts for the broadening of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agenda. In the years that followed, global trade would see a rise in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) that fell outside the framework of the WTO. With the increasing number of PTAs also came new PTA designs and content, such as the inclusion of non-trade provisions on intellectual property rights, investment, and even social issues such as human rights and the environment. The inclusion of environmental standards seeking to regulate and protect the environment and promote sustainable development is the focus of this study. The European Union (EU) has been a leading actor in the rise of PTAs and the inclusion of environmental provisions in its PTAs. Yet, unlike other countries such as the United States and Canada that use enforcing measures such as sanctions and fines to ensure compliance, the EU uses a cooperative approach of dialogues and consultations with civil society and signatory partner governments to facilitate compliance. In the last ten years, this method of involving civil society has become institutionalized in the implementation process of the environmental provisions in what are called the EU's 'new generation' PTAs. The question remains what effect civil society has on this process. This study seeks to provide greater understanding on the possible effect of civil society and civil society strength on the compliance of environmental provisions by signatory countries in PTAs with the EU. To do so, this study uses a co-variational analysis comparing the cases Colombia and Peru, countries which have been in a PTA with the EU since 2013. To research this effect, this study uses a conceptualization of civil society strength, based on the two logics developed by Schmitter and Streeck (1999) and of a recent study by Schrama and Zhelyazkova (2018). The findings demonstrate slight evidence that higher levels of civil society strength in terms of civil society participation and consultation does have a positive effect on compliance, however other factors such as business interests, government priorities at the domestic level, ongoing internal conflicts, and shortfalls in the PTA design are found to also affect compliance. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and civil society actors involved in the implementation of the social and environmental provisions in EU PTAs.