In addition, we have identified four crosscutting themes that are of crucial relevance for the study of each
analytical problem but also for the integrated understanding of earth system governance. First, it is essential to
understand how power relationships shape the formation and practice of earth system governance. Second, we
must explore the role of knowledge and social learning in governance arrangements. Third, in exploring each
analytical problem of earth system governance, researchers will have to deal with the role of overarching norms,
values, and broader ideational structures. Finally, researchers must confront questions of scale, such as whether
findings and hypotheses apply at all spatial and temporal scales and how governance arrangements interact across
scales.
Finally, we propose a series of flagship activities consisting of focused, integrated studies of earth system
governance in specific issue domains. These projects will allow for integration of the findings from research on
the five analytical problems and four crosscutting themes in ways that will increase theoretical knowledge on the
core elements of the overall system of earth system governance. The projects on food, carbon and water will serve
as platforms for linking the social science research on earth system governance with other research activities in
the broader earth system science community.
What do we know: What does Sociology bring to the table for studying the human dimensions of global
climate change?
The Role of Sociology and Sociologists: Below are a number of examples of how the methodological tools and
theories of sociology might contribute to the study of earth system governance as well as some specific areas of
research that might be of interest to sociologists. These general issues could be applied to the specific problem of
climate change in the context of the flagship activity on the global carbon cycle. These examples are meant to be
illustrative of the range of possibilities and should not be viewed as an exhaustive list.
• Theories of organizational behavior can contribute to the analytical problems of agency and adaptiveness
by helping us understand how firms, organizations and individual actors learn.• The analytical problem of agency raises fundamental questions about the nature of authority in social
structures.• Hazards research and theories of risk can be used in the study of different societies’ vulnerabilities and
adaptive capacity in the face of environmental change.• Which differences—gender, class, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, nationality and so on—are most
relevant to the increased and new vulnerabilities created by global environmental change?• Sociologists could contribute to our understanding of the role of knowledge in earth system governance
through studies of how different actors produce and use knowledge to make decisions related to the
natural world.• What is the relationship between participation (or lack thereof) by marginalized groups in decision-
making processes and the influence of governance arrangements on the co-evolution of coupled human-
natural systems?