International Norms And Decision Making

This book presents a punctuated equilibrium framework for understanding the nature of policy decision-making by governments as well as a theory of the creation, functioning, and evolution of international norms and institutions.

This book assesses the impact of norms on decision-making. It argues that norms influence choices not by being causes for actions, but by providing reasons. Consequently it approaches the problem via an investigation of the reasoning process in which norms play a decisive role. Kratochwil argues that, depending upon the strictness the guidance norms provide in arriving at a decision, different styles of reasoning with norms can be distinguished. While the focus in this book is largely analytical, the argument is developed through the interpretation of the classic thinkers in international law (Grotius, Vattel, Pufendorf, Rousseau, Hume, Habermas).

Examines the extent to which member states dominate decision making in international organisations - such as the UN, G8, Council of Europe, the EU, WTO and the OECD. This work assesses the patterns of decision-making to determine whether they are relatively open or closed privileged networks.

The author explores why a large number of international organizations adopted sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa despite strategic and economic interests that had fostered strong ties with it in the past. She argues that the emergence of the norm of racial equality is the reason.

This edited volume puts forth a theoretically and empirically rigorous analysis of Japanese foreign policy. Nine case studies on Japan's security, economic, and environmental policies in this volume examine how norms do or do not guide Japanese foreign policy and how they interact with interests and power.

This book explores the domestic adoption and implementation of international norms. The study of normative outcomes is expanded beyond traditional studies of value conflicts and localization to explore how transnational networks and local content policies affect an international norm’s chances of reaching compliance on the ground. Empirical research from two case studies devoted to world class universities and the flaring of Associated Petroleum gas in Russia illustrate how the involvement of ‘Transnational Expertise and Experience Networks’ increases the chances norm implementation will be successful. This book shows how networks help to adapt international norms to a local context by raising awareness and motivation levels, sharing best practices and past experience of implementation. It will be relevant to students, researchers and policymakers interested in international relations and economic transition.

As the Central and East European states seek to join the European Union and NATO, they face challenging demands to adhere to specific European norms and standards. In this first comprehensive analysis, contributors examine how this process operates in a variety of domains, including civil-military relations; social, labor, and regional relations; economic and information policies; and foreign policy. Each author considers what norms are generated by (or absent from) European international organizations; how they are communicated to prospective members; and, most important, what impact they have had on the policies and actions of individual countries as well as on the region as a whole. These on-the-ground studies provide the empirical foundation needed to support theories of norm diffusion, constructivism, and liberalism in international relations and comparative politics alike.

Wayne Sandholtz and Kendall Stiles sketch the primary theoretical perspectives on international norm change, the 'legalisation' and 'transnational activist' approaches, and argue that both are limited by their focus on international rules as outcomes.