Abstract
International cooperation is a radically different prospect with regard to positivist theories of international relations. According to each approach, states live in a specific international system, are motivated by diverse factors and possess various resources. Each theory then offers a particular context in which cooperation between states occurs in different ways. In fact, states have to face situations that require specific cooperation strategy according to the distribution of powers, their national interests and the nature of the issue demanding cooperation. This last point is the focus of this essay attempting to understand how states behave on the international scene when the issue demanding cooperation is environmental. In a context of great environmental degradation, but also large awareness from countries to effectively address environmental issues, how does environmental cooperation is ruled? The two international relations theories analysed in this essay enable us to comprehend how environmental cooperation takes place within the international agenda. In the end however, none of them is actually able to explain the scope of environmental cooperation alone; rather, there is an interconnection between the different theories of international relations and a necessity to consider all of them to recognize the challenges of environmental cooperation.The modern study of international relations appeared due to the great conflicts of the first part of the twentieth century. At that time, due to the war and international insecurity, international relations approaches started to theorize the reasons for peace and war and the potential for cooperation among states. In this perspective of understanding high politics, the study of environment, considered as low politics, emerged much later.
