This new and updated edition is essential for those wanting tounderstand the limits to collective action on global environmentalproblems. It develops and applies the tools of regime analysis tothe question of how the various global commons are, or fail to be,governed effectively.

Since the publication of the first edition of The Global Commonsthere have been many developments particularly in the area ofclimate change and sustainable development e.g. Agenda 21. This newedition has been extensively re-written and expanded to take intoaccount recent developments and includes new conclusions on theconnections between global and local commons. Involving the firstsystematic comparative analysis of governance regimes, the bookcovers:

* The Third Law of the Sea Convention, the deep seabed, whaling andmarine pollution regimes

* Antarctica and the Madrid Protocol on EnvironmentalProtection

* Outer space regimes for weapons, the operation of satellites andthe emerging problem of orbital debris

* The global atmosphere, the Montreal Protocol for the protectionof the stratospheric ozone layer and the developing climate changeregime and the Kyoto Protocol.

The first edition received widespread praise eg "a comprehensiveand incisive review of much relevant scholarship and case studymaterial" (Area) and "a must for every reading list" (Progress inHuman Geography) and this latest volume will also be invaluable forresearchers and students of politics, environmental management,international relations and political geography.