Peer Reviewed Works
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. 2015. "Displacing Difference and the Barriers to Environmental Justice." Politics, Groups, and Identities.
Witter, Rebecca, Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya, Rebecca Gruby, Maggie Bourque, Sarah Hitchner, Edward Maclin, and J. Peter Brosius.
2015. "Moments of Influence in Global Environmental Governance." Environmental Politics.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. 2014. "Negotiating the Nagoya Protocol: Indigenous Demands for Justice." Global Environmental Politics 14(3): 102-124.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. and Susan Caplow. 2013. "In Pursuit of Procedural Justice: Lessons from an Analysis of 56 Forest Carbon Project Designs." Global Environmental Change 23(5): 968-979.
O'Neill, Kate, Erika Weinthal, Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya, Steven Bernstein, Avery S. Cohn, Michael W. Stone, and Benjamin Cashore. "Methods and Global Environmental Governance." Annual Review of Environment and Resources 38(1): 441-471.
Witter, Rebecca, Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya, Rebecca Gruby, Maggie Bourque, Sarah Hitchner, Edward Maclin, and J. Peter Brosius.
2015. "Moments of Influence in Global Environmental Governance." Environmental Politics.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. 2014. "Negotiating the Nagoya Protocol: Indigenous Demands for Justice." Global Environmental Politics 14(3): 102-124.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. and Susan Caplow. 2013. "In Pursuit of Procedural Justice: Lessons from an Analysis of 56 Forest Carbon Project Designs." Global Environmental Change 23(5): 968-979.
O'Neill, Kate, Erika Weinthal, Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya, Steven Bernstein, Avery S. Cohn, Michael W. Stone, and Benjamin Cashore. "Methods and Global Environmental Governance." Annual Review of Environment and Resources 38(1): 441-471.
Book Project
Fixing the Justice Gap: Institutions, Cross-scale Linkages, and the Pursuit of Justice in Global Forest Governance
If we assume that justice for forest peoples leads to greater involvement in decision-making processes and increased benefits-sharing, then from the perspective of the state, justice for forest peoples in forest governance interventions could undermine state power by empowering historically marginalized groups. Yet, we see significant investments by state and non-state actors dedicated to improving the justice outcomes of conservation initiatives in both democratic and authoritarian states. This empirical reality suggests that justice for forest peoples may be in the interest of global forest governance actors (states, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and firms), prompting a number of questions: why do global forest governance actors pursue justice? Whose conceptualizations of justice do they pursue, for whom, at what scale, through what means, to what ends, and to what effect? Importantly, despite efforts to promote more just conservation, particularly through global initiatives, claims of injustice persist and are increasing in visibility and scope. My research examines this apparent gap between global policy and national implementation and finds that the persistence of justice claims are not simply the result of poor forest governance, a lack of political will among policy-makers to uphold their commitments, or continuous ratcheting up of justice demands from forest peoples. Instead the justice gap emerges from a cognitive disconnect between how justice is institutionalized in global forest governance and the justice aspirations of forest communities.
Drawing on an expanded social theory of institutions and institutional change, Fixing the Justice Gap provides an in-depth exploration of the multivalent nature of justice and explains how norms serve to constrain the opportunities for justice for forest peoples. This research asks: what are the barriers to delivering justice to forest-dependent communities? I approach this question through a multi-sited, multi-method investigation that draws from nearly two years of fieldwork in Laos and Southeast Asia, as well as ethnographic field work at the 10th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the 2014 World Parks Congress, and the 21st Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The analysis blends an extended case study of Laos with the innovative methodology collaborative event ethnography to trace how ideas, norms, and principles of justice emerge, diffuse, and evolve across multiple scales of governance, from global policy arenas to forest community households. The findings reveal that particular conceptualizations of justice have become a central part of the metanormative fabric of global environmental governance, constraining institutional evolution and therewith perpetuating the justice gap in global forest governance.
If we assume that justice for forest peoples leads to greater involvement in decision-making processes and increased benefits-sharing, then from the perspective of the state, justice for forest peoples in forest governance interventions could undermine state power by empowering historically marginalized groups. Yet, we see significant investments by state and non-state actors dedicated to improving the justice outcomes of conservation initiatives in both democratic and authoritarian states. This empirical reality suggests that justice for forest peoples may be in the interest of global forest governance actors (states, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and firms), prompting a number of questions: why do global forest governance actors pursue justice? Whose conceptualizations of justice do they pursue, for whom, at what scale, through what means, to what ends, and to what effect? Importantly, despite efforts to promote more just conservation, particularly through global initiatives, claims of injustice persist and are increasing in visibility and scope. My research examines this apparent gap between global policy and national implementation and finds that the persistence of justice claims are not simply the result of poor forest governance, a lack of political will among policy-makers to uphold their commitments, or continuous ratcheting up of justice demands from forest peoples. Instead the justice gap emerges from a cognitive disconnect between how justice is institutionalized in global forest governance and the justice aspirations of forest communities.
Drawing on an expanded social theory of institutions and institutional change, Fixing the Justice Gap provides an in-depth exploration of the multivalent nature of justice and explains how norms serve to constrain the opportunities for justice for forest peoples. This research asks: what are the barriers to delivering justice to forest-dependent communities? I approach this question through a multi-sited, multi-method investigation that draws from nearly two years of fieldwork in Laos and Southeast Asia, as well as ethnographic field work at the 10th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the 2014 World Parks Congress, and the 21st Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The analysis blends an extended case study of Laos with the innovative methodology collaborative event ethnography to trace how ideas, norms, and principles of justice emerge, diffuse, and evolve across multiple scales of governance, from global policy arenas to forest community households. The findings reveal that particular conceptualizations of justice have become a central part of the metanormative fabric of global environmental governance, constraining institutional evolution and therewith perpetuating the justice gap in global forest governance.
Working Papers
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. In preparation. "Justice Mandates in Global Forest Governance: the Harm of REDD+’ ‘Do No Harm’ Principle."
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. In preparation. "Jumping Scales: the Politics of 'Southern' Representation in Global Environmental Governance."
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. In preparation. "Towards Justice as Recognition: Assessing the Politics of Representation in Conservation Governance."
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. In preparation. "Jumping Scales: the Politics of 'Southern' Representation in Global Environmental Governance."
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. In preparation. "Towards Justice as Recognition: Assessing the Politics of Representation in Conservation Governance."
Professional Reports and Case Studies
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. 2012. Case Study: The Emerald Triangle Forest Complex. University of Vermont: The Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security. Available online at: http://www.uvm.edu/ieds/node/788
Bouahom, Bounthanom, Linkham Douangsavanh, Shinsuke Tomita, Nathan Badenoch, and Kimberly M. Suiseeya (eds.) 2011. Proceedings of international workshop on sustainable natural resources management of mountainous regions in Laos. National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. and Nathan Badenoch. 2008. Synthesis Report: Sustainable Natural Resource Management of Mountainous Regions in Laos. Kyoto, Japan: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Conference Proceedings.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. 2008. "Population, Natural Resource Pressures Could Ignite Human-Wildlife Conflict in Laos." New Security Beat. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars Environmental Change and Security Program. Available online: http://newsecuritybeat.blogspot.com/2008/08/guest-contributor-kimberly-suiseeya.html
Nam, Sangmin, Rodrigo U. Fuentas, and Kimberly R. Marion. 2007. Eco-efficiency: a practical path to sustainable development. A reference for Eco-efficiency partnership in North-East Asia. 84 pp. Bangkok: UNESCAP.
Bouahom, Bounthanom, Linkham Douangsavanh, Shinsuke Tomita, Nathan Badenoch, and Kimberly M. Suiseeya (eds.) 2011. Proceedings of international workshop on sustainable natural resources management of mountainous regions in Laos. National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. and Nathan Badenoch. 2008. Synthesis Report: Sustainable Natural Resource Management of Mountainous Regions in Laos. Kyoto, Japan: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Conference Proceedings.
Marion Suiseeya, Kimberly R. 2008. "Population, Natural Resource Pressures Could Ignite Human-Wildlife Conflict in Laos." New Security Beat. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars Environmental Change and Security Program. Available online: http://newsecuritybeat.blogspot.com/2008/08/guest-contributor-kimberly-suiseeya.html
Nam, Sangmin, Rodrigo U. Fuentas, and Kimberly R. Marion. 2007. Eco-efficiency: a practical path to sustainable development. A reference for Eco-efficiency partnership in North-East Asia. 84 pp. Bangkok: UNESCAP.