Date of Award
8-22-2025
Date Published
September 2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Food Studies
Advisor(s)
Rick Welsh
Second Advisor
Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern
Keywords
climate change;food systems;International Court of Justice;Vanuatu
Abstract
Vanuatu is a leader among small island developing states (SIDS) working to influence global climate change governance, using international diplomacy as its best defense against the climate crisis. In 2023, Vanuatu spearheaded a successful campaign for the United Nations General Assembly to request an advisory opinion (AO) from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) clarifying nations’ legal obligations related to climate change. This study uses a food studies approach to explore Vanuatu’s success in its climate governance campaign, focusing on the relationships between food sovereignty, climate justice, and power. To investigate this subject, I used an interdisciplinary literature review and ten semi-structured, qualitative interviews with subject experts in the fields of Vanuatu’s food systems or the ICJ AO campaign. By focusing on Vanuatu’s food systems, I connect complex global processes with personal experiences at the individual and community levels. I challenge dominant narratives that portray islanders as powerless against the threat of climate change and instead highlight ni-Vanuatu strength, agency, and resilience. The ICJ AO is a landmark development in global climate governance, and the case study of Vanuatu has significant consequences for climate justice at an international scale. I present a set of factors that have contributed to Vanuatu’s success in the ICJ AO campaign, including coalition-building, vulnerability, government leadership, and diplomatic independence. I also present a framework for conceptualizing a nation’s position within international climate governance movements as a function of its climate vulnerability and food sovereignty. This study has implications for how Vanuatu and other developing nations can leverage food sovereignty for greater success in international climate governance movements.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Bentley, Amy Katherine, "Vanuatu and the International Court of Justice: A Food Studies Approach to Climate Governance and Power" (2025). Theses - ALL. 986.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/986
