The paper outlines a framework for studying norm complexity in international politics. We argue t... more The paper outlines a framework for studying norm complexity in international politics. We argue that – due to the increasing density and plurality of the global order – relations and interactions between international norms are gaining relevance as factors influencing norm evolution. While IR scholars have long acknowledged that international norms are embedded in wider normative contexts, this insight has been slow to translate into focused explorations of norm complexity. To advance this line of research, we classify different forms of norm relations that capture norms’ structural positions vis-à-vis each other, identify different types of norm interactions enabled by, but also generating norm relations, and propose a research agenda that exploits our framework to inquire into potential effects of norm complexity: Does it help or harm the emergence, spread, and robustness of individual norms? Does it enable or constrain norm promoters and addressees? Does it empower strong or weak actors?
Journal of International Relations and Development, 2020
International Relations theorists have recently paid increasing attention to the hierarchical nat... more International Relations theorists have recently paid increasing attention to the hierarchical nature of international society, that is, to its built-in structural inequalities. In this article, we focus on one thus far neglected aspect of global social stratification by highlighting the role that international institutions play in both reproducing and transforming inequalities among states and other global subjects. We argue that this focus on institutions can advance our understanding of the processes through which global inequalities are maintained and changed, and that institutionalist research can in turn benefit from shifting its attention from the predominant cooperation paradigm to capturing the manifold ‘inequality’ effects of institutionalised interactions in world politics. We illustrate this shift of perspective with a dual case study of the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions banning anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions.
The article makes the case for scrutinising international organisations (IOs) as key sites and ag... more The article makes the case for scrutinising international organisations (IOs) as key sites and agents of inequality reproduction and transformation in international society. Drawing on sociological inequality research and institutionalist approaches to International Relations, we argue that IOs reproduce and transform broader stratification patterns in their global social environment through intertwined processes of categorisation and distribution. We propose to capture these twin processes from three observation points, which highlight different material and symbolic practices operating within IOs and at the interface between IOs and their environment.
This article analyzes the contested relationship between two practices of intervention on behalf ... more This article analyzes the contested relationship between two practices of intervention on behalf of human rights victims, "humanitarian" military interventions and judicial interventions through international criminal tribunals. While both practices have come to be viewed as complementary instruments in the liberal interventionist "toolbox," their historical evolution was marked by tensions and controversies. To understand both the source of these frictions and how they could be (partly) overcome, the article draws attention to historical and contemporary processes of norm hybridization, that is, to discursive and institutional shifts that have merged different, pre-existing normative ideas into new, complex normative arrangements. Open access at https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/65758/ssoar-humrightsq-2019-4-fehl-Bombs_trials_and_rights_norm.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-humrightsq-2019-4-fehl-Bombs_trials_and_rights_norm.pdf
Since entering office, US president Trump has reversed key multilateral achievements of his prede... more Since entering office, US president Trump has reversed key multilateral achievements of his predecessors, initiating a new US retreat from multilateral cooperation. For other governments wishing to preserve and deepen existing global agreements, this has posed the question of whether and how multilateral cooperation can work without the leadership and support of the dominant global power. International relations scholars have already debated the possibility of “nonhegemonic cooperation” in earlier periods marked by US unilateralism. This article draws on these previous analyses to evaluate the current prospects and limits of a “multilateralism minus one” in three key global policy areas: nuclear arms control, climate change, and trade.
This working paper makes the case for devoting greater attention to problems of norm complexity i... more This working paper makes the case for devoting greater attention to problems of norm complexity in international politics, particularly to the social construction of norm relationships. Recent International Relations (IR) research has highlighted that global norms often remain contested and malleable even after their formal adoption, but has focused on exploring the dynamism of single norms. While norm conflicts or synergies are often discussed as “explanatory factors” that may account for the evolution of an individual norm, this paper takes a different perspective: it argues that norm conflicts and norm synergies are themselves the subjects and products of social construction and discursive controversy, and that we need to better understand the dynamics of “norm linkage” that generate different norm relationships. To this end, the paper proposes that constructivist norms scholarship can benefit from an engagement with rationalist theories of regime complexity, on the one hand, and pragmatist-inspired IR scholarship, on the other. By drawing on and contrasting these different perspectives, the paper outlines a joint research agenda that tackles the issue of norm complexity with a range of questions and heuristic tools. To illustrate how the agenda can be put in practice, the paper discusses linkage dynamics between norms of protection (as exemplified by the “responsibility to protect”) and norms of prosecution (as expressed in the International Criminal Court’s Statute) in debates about mass atrocity responses.
The unilateralist policies of US President Trump pose a challenge to supporters of global multila... more The unilateralist policies of US President Trump pose a challenge to supporters of global multilateral cooperation – but one that is not entirely unparalleled. Not for the first time in history, European and other governments are faced with the question of how and under what conditions a “multilateralism minus one” can be realized. Accordingly, International Relations scholars have long debated the possibility and effectiveness of “non-hegemonic cooperation”. In this article, we draw on these previous analyses to shed light on what states supportive of multilateralism could and should do to advance global governance in areas such as UN peacekeeping, arms control, and climate policy.
On 7 August, she finally had enough. Carla del Ponte, former UN Prosecutor for the Former Yugosla... more On 7 August, she finally had enough. Carla del Ponte, former UN Prosecutor for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, told reporters that she was stepping down as a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria. Since 2011, the UN panel has meticulously documented mass atrocities committed by all sides of the Syrian war. And yet, its investigations have not led to the creation of any tribunal or court, prompting Del Ponte to denounce it as an “alibi” for the international community. Why has criminal account ability – as a major element in the broader search for justice – remained so elusive in Syria? Which pathways, both well-trodden and novel, have been tried to circumvent political roadblocks? Where could the international community still do more?
This paper introduces a sociological analytical perspective that reconceptualises forum shopping ... more This paper introduces a sociological analytical perspective that reconceptualises forum shopping from above and below as interrelated strategies of social mobility within a stratified international society. I argue that power shifts – understood as changes in the allocation of institutional as well as extra-institutional resources – lead states to experience upward or downward social mobility. By shifting issues to alternative fora, both rising and declining members of international society seek to generate additional institutional and extra-institutional capital that they can use to boost their rise or soften their decline. The proposed rethinking positions the strategic institutional choices of individual states within a multidimensional and relational conception of power. This shift of perspectives helps us to see how forum shopping initiatives from above and below are both systematically related to structural change within and outside institutions, how they can influence one another, and how they in turn affect the social structure of international society.
In the field of International Relations, some extent of disciplinary agreement exists that inequa... more In the field of International Relations, some extent of disciplinary agreement exists that inequalities matter to global political outcomes. Yet, it is striking that the very term “inequality” does not occupy a central position in the vocabulary of IR theorists and a shared conceptual framework to compare different dimensions of inequality is so far missing. Similarly, for research about social inequalities, the dimension of global relations has not played a major role, so far. Ideas to formulate a theory of global inequality have been proposed , yet not systematically explored. The paper argues in favour of broadening inequality research to the realm of the global. The main focus of the paper is on (in)equality in institutional orders, proposing that international organisations and institutions can alleviate but also perpetuate and deepen inequalities among state and/or non-state actors. Which processes within organised forums contribute to the production or mitigation of inequalities and thus function as mechanisms is a further key question of the paper.
The 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a paradigmatic example of unequal institutiona... more The 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a paradigmatic example of unequal institutional order. Recognition theory, which International Relations scholars have mostly used to understand struggles against inequalities in world politics, seems ill-equipped at first sight to explain the creation and persistence of this unequal treaty. And yet, a close analysis reveals that different types of recognition needs, articulated by different states, heavily shaped both the process leading up to the adoption of the treaty and its contents. While the NPT denied states the equal right to the possession of nuclear weapons, it responded to demands for participatory equality and for the recognition of individual national identities and achievements. Thus, the multidimensionality of recognition needs explains why recognition politics ultimately enabled and stabilized an unequal institutional order.
The introduction to the volume identifies gaps within existing debates on (non-)recognition withi... more The introduction to the volume identifies gaps within existing debates on (non-)recognition within Social Philosophy, International Law, and International Relations, and clarifies the volume’s conceptual outlook. While ‘recognition’ is a prominent topic in Social Philosophy, research on international processes of granting and withholding recognition has been sparse. The chapter argues that an inter-disciplinary engagement is needed to address this gap, and elaborates common baselines shared by all contributors. Firstly, recognition is understood as a gradual process, suggesting that recognition and non-recognition are not clear-cut alternatives but occur in complex and entangled forms. Secondly, recognition is conceived as a social process with ambiguous consequences, rather than a remedy to all societal ills. ‘Dark sides’ of recognition such as undesirable or unintended effects have been largely neglected in past research.
High expectations but also a sense of mistrust and fear accompanied the foundation of the Intern... more High expectations but also a sense of mistrust and fear accompanied the foundation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002. There was much debate about its relationships with member and non-member states, its investigations and trials and its political impact on violent conflicts and on their management by the international community.
In PRIF Report No. 127 Growing Up Rough: The Changing Politics of Justice at the International Criminal Court Caroline Fehl tracks and analyses the evolution of the political dynamics that have shaped the ICC’s work to date, focusing in particular on the time period after 2005. She identifies four key political problems the court has contended with since its foundation and considers whether they have deepened or lessened over time. Based on her analysis, she concludes with a series of policy recommendations.
Uses the sociological literature on social mechanisms of inequality (re)production to re-examine ... more Uses the sociological literature on social mechanisms of inequality (re)production to re-examine institutional processes within international institutions and organizations
IR scholars have recently paid increasing attention to unequal institutional orders in world poli... more IR scholars have recently paid increasing attention to unequal institutional orders in world politics, arguing that global governance institutions are deeply shaped by power inequalities among states. Yet, the literature still suffers from conceptual limitations and from a shortage of empirical work. The article addresses these shortcomings through a study of the historical evolution of global arms control institutions since 1945. It shows that in this important policy area, the global institutional order has not been marked by a recent trend toward deeper inequality, as many writings on unequal institutions suggest. Instead, the analysis reveals a pattern of institutional mutation whereby specific forms of institutional inequality are recurrently replaced and supplemented by new forms. This process, the article argues, is driven by states' efforts to adapt the regime to a changing material and normative environment within the constraints of past institutional legacies.
Most of the literature on the Responsibility to Protect has focused on the military implementatio... more Most of the literature on the Responsibility to Protect has focused on the military implementation of the emerging norm and on the ethical and practical dilemmas entailed by it, while treating R2P’s civilian dimension as largely unproblematic. In contrast, this article argues that certain non-military instruments widely enlisted in the service of the R2P, specifically economic sanctions and international criminal prosecutions, can equally have severe unintended consequences and are often used as symbolic responses to domestic and international public pressure to “do something” about mass atrocities abroad, rather than rationally chosen in view of their practical impact on the ground.
Die wissenschaftliche und politische Debatte um die Schutzverantwortung konzentrierte sich in der Vergangenheit stark auf die militärische Umsetzung der Norm und damit verbundene Dilemmata, behandelte ihre zivile Dimension dagegen eher am Rande und als weitgehend unproblematisch. Dieser Beitrag unterzieht dagegen nicht-militärische Praktiken, die häufig im Dienste der R2P herangezogen werden, einer kritischen Untersuchung, insbesondere Wirtschaftssanktionen und internationale Strafverfolgungen. Er argumentiert, dass diese Instrumente häufig nicht rational mit Blick auf ihre praktische Wirksamkeit ausgewählt werden, sondern eine rein symbolische, dem heimischen und internationalen öffentlichen Druck geschuldete Ersatzhandlung für riskante Militärinterventionen darstellt.
The paper outlines a framework for studying norm complexity in international politics. We argue t... more The paper outlines a framework for studying norm complexity in international politics. We argue that – due to the increasing density and plurality of the global order – relations and interactions between international norms are gaining relevance as factors influencing norm evolution. While IR scholars have long acknowledged that international norms are embedded in wider normative contexts, this insight has been slow to translate into focused explorations of norm complexity. To advance this line of research, we classify different forms of norm relations that capture norms’ structural positions vis-à-vis each other, identify different types of norm interactions enabled by, but also generating norm relations, and propose a research agenda that exploits our framework to inquire into potential effects of norm complexity: Does it help or harm the emergence, spread, and robustness of individual norms? Does it enable or constrain norm promoters and addressees? Does it empower strong or weak actors?
Journal of International Relations and Development, 2020
International Relations theorists have recently paid increasing attention to the hierarchical nat... more International Relations theorists have recently paid increasing attention to the hierarchical nature of international society, that is, to its built-in structural inequalities. In this article, we focus on one thus far neglected aspect of global social stratification by highlighting the role that international institutions play in both reproducing and transforming inequalities among states and other global subjects. We argue that this focus on institutions can advance our understanding of the processes through which global inequalities are maintained and changed, and that institutionalist research can in turn benefit from shifting its attention from the predominant cooperation paradigm to capturing the manifold ‘inequality’ effects of institutionalised interactions in world politics. We illustrate this shift of perspective with a dual case study of the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions banning anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions.
The article makes the case for scrutinising international organisations (IOs) as key sites and ag... more The article makes the case for scrutinising international organisations (IOs) as key sites and agents of inequality reproduction and transformation in international society. Drawing on sociological inequality research and institutionalist approaches to International Relations, we argue that IOs reproduce and transform broader stratification patterns in their global social environment through intertwined processes of categorisation and distribution. We propose to capture these twin processes from three observation points, which highlight different material and symbolic practices operating within IOs and at the interface between IOs and their environment.
This article analyzes the contested relationship between two practices of intervention on behalf ... more This article analyzes the contested relationship between two practices of intervention on behalf of human rights victims, "humanitarian" military interventions and judicial interventions through international criminal tribunals. While both practices have come to be viewed as complementary instruments in the liberal interventionist "toolbox," their historical evolution was marked by tensions and controversies. To understand both the source of these frictions and how they could be (partly) overcome, the article draws attention to historical and contemporary processes of norm hybridization, that is, to discursive and institutional shifts that have merged different, pre-existing normative ideas into new, complex normative arrangements. Open access at https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/65758/ssoar-humrightsq-2019-4-fehl-Bombs_trials_and_rights_norm.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-humrightsq-2019-4-fehl-Bombs_trials_and_rights_norm.pdf
Since entering office, US president Trump has reversed key multilateral achievements of his prede... more Since entering office, US president Trump has reversed key multilateral achievements of his predecessors, initiating a new US retreat from multilateral cooperation. For other governments wishing to preserve and deepen existing global agreements, this has posed the question of whether and how multilateral cooperation can work without the leadership and support of the dominant global power. International relations scholars have already debated the possibility of “nonhegemonic cooperation” in earlier periods marked by US unilateralism. This article draws on these previous analyses to evaluate the current prospects and limits of a “multilateralism minus one” in three key global policy areas: nuclear arms control, climate change, and trade.
This working paper makes the case for devoting greater attention to problems of norm complexity i... more This working paper makes the case for devoting greater attention to problems of norm complexity in international politics, particularly to the social construction of norm relationships. Recent International Relations (IR) research has highlighted that global norms often remain contested and malleable even after their formal adoption, but has focused on exploring the dynamism of single norms. While norm conflicts or synergies are often discussed as “explanatory factors” that may account for the evolution of an individual norm, this paper takes a different perspective: it argues that norm conflicts and norm synergies are themselves the subjects and products of social construction and discursive controversy, and that we need to better understand the dynamics of “norm linkage” that generate different norm relationships. To this end, the paper proposes that constructivist norms scholarship can benefit from an engagement with rationalist theories of regime complexity, on the one hand, and pragmatist-inspired IR scholarship, on the other. By drawing on and contrasting these different perspectives, the paper outlines a joint research agenda that tackles the issue of norm complexity with a range of questions and heuristic tools. To illustrate how the agenda can be put in practice, the paper discusses linkage dynamics between norms of protection (as exemplified by the “responsibility to protect”) and norms of prosecution (as expressed in the International Criminal Court’s Statute) in debates about mass atrocity responses.
The unilateralist policies of US President Trump pose a challenge to supporters of global multila... more The unilateralist policies of US President Trump pose a challenge to supporters of global multilateral cooperation – but one that is not entirely unparalleled. Not for the first time in history, European and other governments are faced with the question of how and under what conditions a “multilateralism minus one” can be realized. Accordingly, International Relations scholars have long debated the possibility and effectiveness of “non-hegemonic cooperation”. In this article, we draw on these previous analyses to shed light on what states supportive of multilateralism could and should do to advance global governance in areas such as UN peacekeeping, arms control, and climate policy.
On 7 August, she finally had enough. Carla del Ponte, former UN Prosecutor for the Former Yugosla... more On 7 August, she finally had enough. Carla del Ponte, former UN Prosecutor for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, told reporters that she was stepping down as a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria. Since 2011, the UN panel has meticulously documented mass atrocities committed by all sides of the Syrian war. And yet, its investigations have not led to the creation of any tribunal or court, prompting Del Ponte to denounce it as an “alibi” for the international community. Why has criminal account ability – as a major element in the broader search for justice – remained so elusive in Syria? Which pathways, both well-trodden and novel, have been tried to circumvent political roadblocks? Where could the international community still do more?
This paper introduces a sociological analytical perspective that reconceptualises forum shopping ... more This paper introduces a sociological analytical perspective that reconceptualises forum shopping from above and below as interrelated strategies of social mobility within a stratified international society. I argue that power shifts – understood as changes in the allocation of institutional as well as extra-institutional resources – lead states to experience upward or downward social mobility. By shifting issues to alternative fora, both rising and declining members of international society seek to generate additional institutional and extra-institutional capital that they can use to boost their rise or soften their decline. The proposed rethinking positions the strategic institutional choices of individual states within a multidimensional and relational conception of power. This shift of perspectives helps us to see how forum shopping initiatives from above and below are both systematically related to structural change within and outside institutions, how they can influence one another, and how they in turn affect the social structure of international society.
In the field of International Relations, some extent of disciplinary agreement exists that inequa... more In the field of International Relations, some extent of disciplinary agreement exists that inequalities matter to global political outcomes. Yet, it is striking that the very term “inequality” does not occupy a central position in the vocabulary of IR theorists and a shared conceptual framework to compare different dimensions of inequality is so far missing. Similarly, for research about social inequalities, the dimension of global relations has not played a major role, so far. Ideas to formulate a theory of global inequality have been proposed , yet not systematically explored. The paper argues in favour of broadening inequality research to the realm of the global. The main focus of the paper is on (in)equality in institutional orders, proposing that international organisations and institutions can alleviate but also perpetuate and deepen inequalities among state and/or non-state actors. Which processes within organised forums contribute to the production or mitigation of inequalities and thus function as mechanisms is a further key question of the paper.
The 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a paradigmatic example of unequal institutiona... more The 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a paradigmatic example of unequal institutional order. Recognition theory, which International Relations scholars have mostly used to understand struggles against inequalities in world politics, seems ill-equipped at first sight to explain the creation and persistence of this unequal treaty. And yet, a close analysis reveals that different types of recognition needs, articulated by different states, heavily shaped both the process leading up to the adoption of the treaty and its contents. While the NPT denied states the equal right to the possession of nuclear weapons, it responded to demands for participatory equality and for the recognition of individual national identities and achievements. Thus, the multidimensionality of recognition needs explains why recognition politics ultimately enabled and stabilized an unequal institutional order.
The introduction to the volume identifies gaps within existing debates on (non-)recognition withi... more The introduction to the volume identifies gaps within existing debates on (non-)recognition within Social Philosophy, International Law, and International Relations, and clarifies the volume’s conceptual outlook. While ‘recognition’ is a prominent topic in Social Philosophy, research on international processes of granting and withholding recognition has been sparse. The chapter argues that an inter-disciplinary engagement is needed to address this gap, and elaborates common baselines shared by all contributors. Firstly, recognition is understood as a gradual process, suggesting that recognition and non-recognition are not clear-cut alternatives but occur in complex and entangled forms. Secondly, recognition is conceived as a social process with ambiguous consequences, rather than a remedy to all societal ills. ‘Dark sides’ of recognition such as undesirable or unintended effects have been largely neglected in past research.
High expectations but also a sense of mistrust and fear accompanied the foundation of the Intern... more High expectations but also a sense of mistrust and fear accompanied the foundation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002. There was much debate about its relationships with member and non-member states, its investigations and trials and its political impact on violent conflicts and on their management by the international community.
In PRIF Report No. 127 Growing Up Rough: The Changing Politics of Justice at the International Criminal Court Caroline Fehl tracks and analyses the evolution of the political dynamics that have shaped the ICC’s work to date, focusing in particular on the time period after 2005. She identifies four key political problems the court has contended with since its foundation and considers whether they have deepened or lessened over time. Based on her analysis, she concludes with a series of policy recommendations.
Uses the sociological literature on social mechanisms of inequality (re)production to re-examine ... more Uses the sociological literature on social mechanisms of inequality (re)production to re-examine institutional processes within international institutions and organizations
IR scholars have recently paid increasing attention to unequal institutional orders in world poli... more IR scholars have recently paid increasing attention to unequal institutional orders in world politics, arguing that global governance institutions are deeply shaped by power inequalities among states. Yet, the literature still suffers from conceptual limitations and from a shortage of empirical work. The article addresses these shortcomings through a study of the historical evolution of global arms control institutions since 1945. It shows that in this important policy area, the global institutional order has not been marked by a recent trend toward deeper inequality, as many writings on unequal institutions suggest. Instead, the analysis reveals a pattern of institutional mutation whereby specific forms of institutional inequality are recurrently replaced and supplemented by new forms. This process, the article argues, is driven by states' efforts to adapt the regime to a changing material and normative environment within the constraints of past institutional legacies.
Most of the literature on the Responsibility to Protect has focused on the military implementatio... more Most of the literature on the Responsibility to Protect has focused on the military implementation of the emerging norm and on the ethical and practical dilemmas entailed by it, while treating R2P’s civilian dimension as largely unproblematic. In contrast, this article argues that certain non-military instruments widely enlisted in the service of the R2P, specifically economic sanctions and international criminal prosecutions, can equally have severe unintended consequences and are often used as symbolic responses to domestic and international public pressure to “do something” about mass atrocities abroad, rather than rationally chosen in view of their practical impact on the ground.
Die wissenschaftliche und politische Debatte um die Schutzverantwortung konzentrierte sich in der Vergangenheit stark auf die militärische Umsetzung der Norm und damit verbundene Dilemmata, behandelte ihre zivile Dimension dagegen eher am Rande und als weitgehend unproblematisch. Dieser Beitrag unterzieht dagegen nicht-militärische Praktiken, die häufig im Dienste der R2P herangezogen werden, einer kritischen Untersuchung, insbesondere Wirtschaftssanktionen und internationale Strafverfolgungen. Er argumentiert, dass diese Instrumente häufig nicht rational mit Blick auf ihre praktische Wirksamkeit ausgewählt werden, sondern eine rein symbolische, dem heimischen und internationalen öffentlichen Druck geschuldete Ersatzhandlung für riskante Militärinterventionen darstellt.
Recognition is a basic human need. A prominent debate in Political Philosophy and Theory has high... more Recognition is a basic human need. A prominent debate in Political Philosophy and Theory has highlighted the significance of this concept in daily life and in politics. Both individual and collective actors can experience misrecognition or non-recognition by significant other actors, which is often framed in terms of injustice and drives many social conflicts. However, recognition is not a panacea to all societal ills, and its multi-faceted effects in the international realm have, so far, been under-acknowledged.
In assembling contributions from International Relations, Political Theory and International Law, this volume advances interdisciplinary theoretical engagements and builds on empirical investigations into the struggles for recognition among global political subjects. Focusing on established states, unrecognised states and non-state actors, the contributors share the assumption that recognition is to be conceived of as a gradual process and that it is an ambiguous concept both in theory and political practice.
The paper introduces a sociological analytical perspective that reconceptualises forum shopping f... more The paper introduces a sociological analytical perspective that reconceptualises forum shopping from above and below as interrelated strategies of social mobility within a stratified international society. I argue that power shifts – understood as changes in the allocation of institutional as well as extra-institutional resources – lead states to experience upward or downward social mobility. By shifting issues to alternative fora, both rising and declining members of international society seek to generate additional institutional and extra-institutional capital that they can use to boost their rise or soften their decline. The proposed rethinking positions the strategic institutional choices of individual states within a multidimensional and relational conception of power. This shift of perspectives helps us to see how forum shopping initiatives from above and below are both systematically related to structural change within and outside institutions, how they can influence one another, and how they in turn affect the social structure of international society.
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advance this line of research, we classify different forms of norm relations that capture norms’ structural positions vis-à-vis each other, identify different types of norm interactions enabled by, but also generating norm relations, and propose a research agenda that exploits our framework to inquire into potential effects of norm complexity: Does it help or harm the emergence, spread, and robustness of individual norms? Does it enable or constrain norm promoters and addressees? Does it empower strong or weak actors?
In PRIF Report No. 127 Growing Up Rough: The Changing Politics of Justice at the International Criminal Court Caroline Fehl tracks and analyses the evolution of the political dynamics that have shaped the ICC’s work to date, focusing in particular on the time period after 2005. She identifies four key political problems the court has contended with since its foundation and considers whether they have deepened or lessened over time. Based on her analysis, she concludes with a series of policy recommendations.
Die wissenschaftliche und politische Debatte um die Schutzverantwortung konzentrierte sich in der Vergangenheit stark auf die militärische Umsetzung der Norm und damit verbundene Dilemmata, behandelte ihre zivile Dimension dagegen eher am Rande und als weitgehend unproblematisch. Dieser Beitrag unterzieht dagegen nicht-militärische Praktiken, die häufig im Dienste der R2P herangezogen werden, einer kritischen Untersuchung, insbesondere Wirtschaftssanktionen und internationale Strafverfolgungen. Er argumentiert, dass diese Instrumente häufig nicht rational mit Blick auf ihre praktische Wirksamkeit ausgewählt werden, sondern eine rein symbolische, dem heimischen und internationalen öffentlichen Druck geschuldete Ersatzhandlung für riskante Militärinterventionen darstellt.
advance this line of research, we classify different forms of norm relations that capture norms’ structural positions vis-à-vis each other, identify different types of norm interactions enabled by, but also generating norm relations, and propose a research agenda that exploits our framework to inquire into potential effects of norm complexity: Does it help or harm the emergence, spread, and robustness of individual norms? Does it enable or constrain norm promoters and addressees? Does it empower strong or weak actors?
In PRIF Report No. 127 Growing Up Rough: The Changing Politics of Justice at the International Criminal Court Caroline Fehl tracks and analyses the evolution of the political dynamics that have shaped the ICC’s work to date, focusing in particular on the time period after 2005. She identifies four key political problems the court has contended with since its foundation and considers whether they have deepened or lessened over time. Based on her analysis, she concludes with a series of policy recommendations.
Die wissenschaftliche und politische Debatte um die Schutzverantwortung konzentrierte sich in der Vergangenheit stark auf die militärische Umsetzung der Norm und damit verbundene Dilemmata, behandelte ihre zivile Dimension dagegen eher am Rande und als weitgehend unproblematisch. Dieser Beitrag unterzieht dagegen nicht-militärische Praktiken, die häufig im Dienste der R2P herangezogen werden, einer kritischen Untersuchung, insbesondere Wirtschaftssanktionen und internationale Strafverfolgungen. Er argumentiert, dass diese Instrumente häufig nicht rational mit Blick auf ihre praktische Wirksamkeit ausgewählt werden, sondern eine rein symbolische, dem heimischen und internationalen öffentlichen Druck geschuldete Ersatzhandlung für riskante Militärinterventionen darstellt.
In assembling contributions from International Relations, Political Theory and International Law, this volume advances interdisciplinary theoretical engagements and builds on empirical investigations into the struggles for recognition among global political subjects. Focusing on established states, unrecognised states and non-state actors, the contributors share the assumption that recognition is to be conceived of as a gradual process and that it is an ambiguous concept both in theory and political practice.