norm diffusion

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the process by which standards of appropriate behaviour — norms — spread among states and other international actors, transforming their interests, identities, and policies as the norm becomes established, internalised, and taken for granted; constructivist IR scholars Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink developed an influential model of the norm life cycle in which norm emergence, cascade, and internalisation describe the trajectory from an idea promoted by norm entrepreneurs through international organisations and transnational advocacy networks to widespread acceptance and finally unquestioned routine; norm diffusion has been used to explain the spread of anti-slavery norms, decolonisation, the international human rights regime, norms against the use of landmines and cluster munitions, and environmental protection standards; diffusion can occur through persuasion — actors are convinced the norm reflects correct values — through mimicry — actors adopt norms to appear legitimate — or through socialisation in international organisations that reward compliance and stigmatise violation

Examples

• Norm diffusion through the Convention on the Rights of the Child gradually shifted legal and political standards for child welfare worldwide.
• The norm against chemical weapons use has been reinforced through stigmatisation even when enforcement mechanisms are weak.