Climate leadership without hegemony: normative power and Latin American middle powers in global climate governance (2010–2024)

Carlos Hernán GONZÁLEZ-PARIAS; Juan Camilo MESA BEDOYA; Pedro PIEDRAHITA-BUSTAMANTE; Javier JUÁREZ RODRÍGUEZ

doi:10.34625/issn.2183-2705(40.1)2026.ic-11

Authors

Carlos Hernán GONZÁLEZ-PARIAS Tecnológico de Antioquia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6129-8662
Juan Camilo MESA BEDOYA CEIPA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8495-9988
Pedro PIEDRAHITA-BUSTAMANTE Tecnologico de Antioquia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6408-0431
Javier JUÁREZ RODRÍGUEZ Universidad Complutense de Madrid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34625/issn.2183-2705(40.1)2026.ic-11

Keywords:

Climate governance, Middle powers, Normative power, Latin America, Niche diplomacy

Abstract

Traditional literature on global governance assumes that effective leadership relies on hegemonic material capabilities. This article challenges this premise by analyzing how Colombia, Chile, and Costa Rica, middle powers lacking structural weight in emissions or finance, have exerted systemic influence within the UNFCCC climate regime (2010–2024). Employing a comparative research design and process tracing, the study identifies three causal mechanisms of "leadership without hegemony": (1) the construction of cognitive architectures through coalitions (AILAC) to overcome North-South binarisms; (2) norm entrepreneurship in specific niches (SDGs, Ocean-Climate Nexus, and Carbon Markets); and (3) institutional brokerage during regime crises. Findings suggest that these actors operate under a logic of "selective credibility," building moral authority abroad despite facing structural contradictions and implementation gaps domestically. The article concludes that while normative power is effective for agenda-setting, it faces a "material glass ceiling" in the distributive phase, validating a theoretical synthesis between diplomatic constructivism and peripheral realism.

Author Biography

Javier JUÁREZ RODRÍGUEZ, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Javier Juárez Rodríguez
Departamento de Periodismo y Comunicación Global
Facultad de Ciencias de la Información
Universidad Complutense de Madrid

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