Introduction

The conventional approach to studying regime effectiveness is to look at how international regimes influence member states in their efforts to make and implement relevant decisions. Regime effectiveness is portrayed as a process of engaging countries in the objectives of the regime, whether this objective is the protection of the ozone layer, sustainable management of biodiversity, preservation of whales, or the prevention of hazardous releases into the marine environment. Linkages between international institutions refers to a situation where individual regimes interact so that other regimes affect the functional scope of the core regime. Such linkages exist either horizontally or vertically. Norway is party to over 70 major international environmental agreements that may have a bearing on Norway's environmental policy. It is thus reasonable to assume that the manner by which Norway engages an international regime to pursue national goals will depend on interaction between the regime and other linked international institutions.