Celebrities as norm entrepreneurs in international politics: Mia Farrow and the ‘Genocide Olympics’ campaign

Abstract

How do celebrities go beyond the promotion of human rights causes to shape thinking around possible solutions? This article looks at celebrity activism in international politics by tracing Mia Farrow’s norm entrepreneurship of the term ‘Genocide Olympics’. Expanding on the concept of ‘celebrity diplomacy’, I utilise a norm-building ‘life cycle’ model to argue that a celebrity can not only amplify human rights issues but may also reshape non-governmental organisational and institutional policy frameworks. I contend that the ‘norm entrepreneurship’ of a celebrity lies outside of international forums like the United Nations and involves a more aggressive polemical approach, contrasting with previous understandings of celebrity engagement in international politics. While scholarship has viewed figures such as humanitarian actors and world leaders as norm entrepreneurs, this case demonstrates the capacity of a celebrity to convince the international community to embrace a new norm.