Suchergebnisse

This commentary examines whether R2P is a fully-fledged norm. As a normative aspiration R2P is almost universally accepted. However as a standard of behaviour that states implement as a matter of course R2P is far from fully-fledged. By examining state responses to refugee crises in Syria it is argued that powerful states are failing in their special responsibility to protect.

International Relations (IR) scholars have devoted considerable attention to domestic adoption of international norms, because application of these norms occurs largely through domestic political systems. This article argues that research on norm adoption is hampered by characteristics of current IR theory that result in a lack of appropriate attention to key actors and processes. The role of corporations in norm adoption is largely ignored, reflecting a wider failure to theorise their role in international politics. The agency of domestic groups that stand to benefit from application of international norms is underplayed, reflecting the heavy emphasis on structural factors that characterises the dominant constructivist approach to analysis of international norms. The interplay between material and ideational resources and strategies in norm contests receives inadequate attention, reflecting a continuing tendency to see constructivism and rationalism as alternative explanatory frameworks. The article presents a model of domestic norm adoption that allows these shortcomings to be addressed, with implications for IR theory generally. Adapted from the source document.

THIS ESSAY REVIEWS THE VARIOUS APPROACHES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL NORMS. SPECIAL ATTENTION IS DEVOTED TO EXAMINING THE CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL OBSTACLES THAT HAVE IMPEDED EMPIRICAL WORK ON WHEN, HOW, AND WHY NORMS AFFECT FOREIGN POLICY BEHAVIOR.

Over the past three decades, there has been a notable expansion in the number and remit of global norms of human protection, informing the rationale and reform of international law and institutions in significant ways. Yet, the inconsistent and selective implementation of these norms undermines their legitimacy and strength. Drawing on interviews with United Nations (UN) officials, diplomats, non-governmental organizations, and experts, this article examines the challenge of strengthening consistency in the implementation of international human protection norms. It argues that diversity in practice is a strength for their consistent implementation when understood through a broader account of the regulatory function of international norms. Dominant accounts of the regulatory function of international norms in international law (compliance) and international relations (internalization) seek consistency of norm implementation through mechanisms such as legal/institutional reform and socialization, respectively. These accounts, I argue, are strengthened by a socio-legal approach to responsive regulation that pays attention to the way that norms operate "in reality" to regulate actor behavior, identifying the generative and creative function of international norms in steering the flow of events toward desired outcomes. It then examines efforts to extend human protection norms into new territory and toward improved preventive capacity with an increased emphasis on accountability through the UN Human Rights Council. This article introduces the concept of regulatory contestation that extends analytical attention to the governance processes through which norms shape international politics and practice.