The Translocal Politics of Environmental Norm Diffusion

Abstract

ABSTRACTSince the 1960s environmental norms have emerged as a defining force in world politics. Scholars who study environmental communication have demonstrated the power of a great diversity of global norms, from the belief that development should be sustainable to the belief that commercial whaling is morally wrong. Global environmental norms have tended to emerge when the scientific consensus of harm is consolidating, health fears are high, the power of advocates is rising, compliance is easy, and resistance is weak. There are, however, very few truly global environmental norms in terms of societal acceptance and state compliance. Offering an original typology of norm diffusion, this article shows that the majority of environmental ideas and norms have become ensnared in local cycles of contestation, with widely varying meanings and uneven consequences. Local power struggles over values, natural capital, and patronage help explain which environmental ideas turn into global norms, how these norms diffuse, and with what meanings. This translocal politics also helps explain why so many environmental norms struggle to improve conditions on the ground, as well as why, over time, ideas that challenge the liberal world order tend to fall to the wayside.