Norms Of International Society Research Articles

Reception and practice of diplomacy in modern Japan: power, interests, and norms

Abstract This article re-examines Japan’s entry into international society, focusing on leading Japanese diplomats. It has been believed that Meiji leaders’ interpretation of international society and diplomacy was characterized by power-political and zero-sum thinking, and they took a realistic approach in an imperialistic system. However, the present article demonstrates that Japanese diplomacy in and after the 1890s was basically guided by interest-oriented and non–zero-sum thinking which was closely tied to the international order. Leading Japanese diplomats, who learned from their experiences in diplomacy with Western countries, understood the significance of norms as well as the importance of military power, and pursued Japan’s national interests within the rules and norms of international society. These findings offer a new image of the principles of modern Japanese diplomacy, the mechanisms of Japanese imperial expansion, and the process of the spread of norms in international society.

In the midst of theory and practice

AbstractThis cross-disciplinary symposium on Friedrich Kratochwil's The Status of Law in International Society engages with the interconnections between social knowledge (theory) and action (practice). Each contributor reflects critically on one of Kratochwil's nine meditations. These co-meditations cover not only Kratochwil's work, but they deepen discussions on the role of legal norms in international society, the practice turn, pragmatism, the production of knowledge, and human action. Kratochwil's reply to his co-meditators pushes the limits of prevailing thought on praxis. As a whole, the symposium exemplifies how we find ourselves always in the midst of theory and practice.

Consistency, Protection, Responsibility

Abstract Selective humanitarianism, it has been argued, may be condonable, or even preferable. Several arguments have been proffered in support of these views. This article revisits these arguments in light of the emergence of a discourse of protection and responsibility that now incorporates a wider spectrum of protection measures available to agents, of which armed intervention is but one. Consistency is an essential characteristic of ethics and the law—inconsistent practice diminishes the prospects of the development of norms of protection and associated practices and institutions. Furthermore, inconsistent practice means that fewer people receive protection from egregious violations of human rights. If the principles associated with human protection and humanitarianism are to become established norms of international society, international policy must be coherent, and international practice must be consistent.

China and Japan’s Quest for Great Power Status: Norm Entrepreneurship in Anti-Piracy Responses

In responding to piracy in the Gulf of Aden, both Chinese and Japanese policymakers have acted as norm entrepreneurs who intend to transform the dominant norms of international society. Chinese and Japanese norm entrepreneurship is grounded in the ways in which foreign policy actors construct and reconstruct their state identity. In China’s case, policymakers have projected China’s self-image as a responsible and benevolent Great Power that derives from the Chinese conception of Tianxia. Japanese foreign policy actors, on the other hand, have advanced the notion of Japan as a bridge that mediates between East and West, developing and developed states, members and non-members of international society. Although we do not advocate that Chinese or Japanese norm entrepreneurship should be accepted uncritically, we do maintain that there exist opportunities to combine and develop the multiple approaches that different states promote to problems. This article has shown that dealing with Somali piracy is one such case.

Sino-speak: Chinese Exceptionalism and the Politics of History

This article examines how recent books by academics and public intellectuals are reshaping the discourse of the rise of China. While earlier trends argued that China was being socialized into the norms of international society, many texts now proclaim that due to its unique civilization, China will follow its own path to modernity. Such books thus look to the past—China's imperial history—for clues to not only China's future, but also the world's future. This discourse, which could be called “Sino-speak,” presents an essentialized Chinese civilization that is culturally determined to rule Asia, if not the world. The article notes that nuanced readings of China's historical relations with its East Asian neighbors provide a critical entry into a more sophisticated analysis of popular declarations of “Chinese exceptionalism.” But it concludes that this critical analysis is largely overwhelmed by the wave of Sino-speak.

A Rising China and the Normative Changes in International Society

Normative changes in the Western-dominated international society have been taking place, symbolized by the evolution from the “standard of civilization” to the “new standard of civilization”. And the West has always been the developer of the new norms in international society, and changes in international norms reflect the link between power on one hand and norms, rules and institutions on the other. That is a fact or an invented reality which a rapidly rising China has to deal with, and its implications on China’s future relationship with the international society are sure to be great and far-reaching.

Justifying War in the Post-Cold War Era: Shifting Norms of International Society?

Justifying War in the Post-Cold War Era: Shifting Norms of International Society?

Making Sense of NGOs: The Mice That Roar?

Nongovernmental Organizations in International Society: Struggles over Recognition. By Volker Heins. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 211 pp., $74.95 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-230-60036-2). Victims of war, poverty, and other injustices have usually endured additional victimization through marginalization, neglect, and a fundamental lack of acknowledgement of suffering, but the arrival of non-governmental organizations on the international scene has given a new voice to their plight. However, the question asked in all quarters—from donors, governments, multilateral agencies, critics, and intended beneficiaries—relates to the bottom-line of power. In a political order predicated on state sovereignty, what does this new generation of bureaucracy to improve human welfare ultimately mean? Do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) change the behavior of actors so as to alter the causes of harm? Can these mice roar? Nongovernmental Organizations in International Society by Volker Heins ably tackles this issue and captures the essence of the NGO phenomenon in international politics with a thoughtful treatment of the theoretical literature paired with an empirical grounding of case studies. The book explains the emergence and evolution of NGOs in order to understand their special position relative to states and international organizations by blending the English School of International Relations (which examines the norms of international society that shape political outcomes) and the Frankfurt School of communicative action (which posits the importance of “recognition,” or building norms that engender mutual respect and concern for people of different cultures and nationalities). Heins's exploration of non-state political spaces and actors follows the basic steps of scientific investigation, first defining and describing before turning to an analysis and assessment of NGOs. The book begins with a discussion of his approach …

Creating a More `Just' Order

This article analyses the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in light of its potential for creating and institutionalizing justice norms in international society. The theoretical and analytical framework is based on the English School of International Relations and its central conflict between order and justice. The framework integrates a constructivist approach and the `norm life-cycle' to explain the dynamic process of norm emergence and institutionalization in international society. I argue that establishing the ICTY, despite a number of problems resulting from the way it was set up, constituted an important precedent for multilateral action towards institutionalizing respect for the rule of law and principles of individual justice. This suggests that these norms are being taken increasingly seriously and are being given priority over other fundamental principles of order, such as sovereignty and non-intervention. The ICTY's establishment constitutes a significant development in international politics and law and is evidence of the international society's move towards increased norm internationalization. The ICTY also contributed to the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the further institutionalization of human rights norms in creating a more just order.

Arie M. Kacowicz, The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2001. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005. 228 pp.

Arie M. Kacowicz, The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2001. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005. 228 pp.

The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881-2001 (review)

The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881-2001 (review)

The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2001

The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2001. By Arie M. Kacowicz. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005. 232p. 20.00 paper.With this book, Arie Kacowicz addresses the ongoing “norms debates” in the international relations literature and attempts a synthetic perspective on norms. The attempt at synthesis is an important one and well done, even if problematic at points.

The impact of norms in international society: the Latin American experience, 1881-2001

This book addresses problems and puzzles associated with identifying international norms and the influence of these norms on the behavior of different states in international relations in a regional context. Arie M. Kacowicz's research traces several international norms of peace and security and examines their impact in Latin America between 1881 and 2001. He offers an original synthesis of positivist and constructivist approaches and links international relations, international law, international ethics, and Latin American diplomatic history. Kacowicz's primary argument is that a body of international norms of peace and security can be considered an independent and dynamic factor that affects the quality of international society generally and also plays a significant role in regional contexts. In developing his argument, he analyzes the origin of international norms, the impact of norms on the domestic and foreign behavior of states, and the conditions under which regional norms affect the political behavior of states. The book contains eleven empirical case-studies of the ways that international norms have affected the actions of Latin American states, ranging from the neutralization of the Magellan Straits in 1881, to the recent incorporation of Argentina, Chile, and Brazil into the Tlatelolco regime of a nuclear-weapons-free-zone in 1994, and the nuclear cooperation between Argentina and Brazil beginning in the late 1990s. These case-studies include stories of success through peaceful resolutions of conflict between states, of failure, and mixtures of both. Scholars and students of international relations and Latin America will find this book to be both a valuable analysis of international norms and a compelling diplomatic history.

Can We Bridge the Theoretical Gap or Merely Generalize?

The Impact of Norms in International Society, by Arie Kacowicz, has all attributes of a valuable piece of qualitative research: a strong analytical base combined with detailed and accurate empirical inquiry. The book is full of interesting evidence indicating that local and regional were adhered to under a variety of circumstances and throughout different periods of time in American history. In theory, this is compelling evidence that have an impact in society and politics. The essential focus and purpose of The Impact of Norms in International Society is to show that Latin American society has been a successful Groatian laboratory to test presence, effect, impact, and resilience of regional values, norms, and institutions associated with peace (p. 70). As such, Kacowicz sets up argument that America can be viewed, not only as a geopolitical unit, but also as an society. He develops a framework for evaluating extent to which various protagonists adhered to certain throughout a 120-year history. In The Impact of Norms in International Society, Kacowicz attempts to bridge a number of gaps currently bifurcating relations theory, in particular gap between positivist theoretical and empirical research and turn toward constructivism, with its rejection of approaches that have come before-especially various forms of positivist analysis. To some extent, effort to bridge these approaches is successful. The book is useful and informative in terms of developing analytical capacity of as a unit of analysis. It identifies alternatives to constructivist interpretation of norms, and it identifies how concepts like law can be used within normative framework. As a result, it also suggests some interesting and possibly useful strategies for developing a mode of inquiry about politics that formalizes and legitimizes combining concept of norms with that of international law. In setting up framework for study of norms, Kacowicz makes an interesting argument about a Constructivism versus The Rest mentality that has developed among scholars of politics. Kacowicz views such developments as malign tendencies in field of International Relations to draw lines, form camps, celebrate old and new fads, and constantly re-invent old and forgotten wheels (p. 40). Whether this tendency, conceptualized as a problem, is malignant or merely a necessary step for knowledge development, argument stands that it has serious limitations. As Kacowicz notes, the focus on and identities, essential for constructivism, has become in itself distorted when it is isolated from law and from ethics, especially when it is

The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2000 by Arie M. Kacowicz

Political Science QuarterlyVolume 121, Issue 1 p. 182-183 The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2000 by Arie M. Kacowicz Cameron G. Thies, Cameron G. Thies Louisiana State UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Cameron G. Thies, Cameron G. Thies Louisiana State UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 25 March 2013 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2006.tb01485.xAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume121, Issue1Spring 2006Pages 182-183 RelatedInformation

Multinational Enterprises as "Moral Entrepreneurs" in a Global Prohibition Regime Against Corruption

This article explores the incentives and means multinational enterprises (MNEs) may have to create a corruption-free business environment. It draws on [Ethan Nadelmann’s (1990)][1] article in International Organization , “Global Prohibition Regimes: The Evolution of Norms in International Society” and discerns the emergence of such a regime centered on bribe paying and bribe soliciting. [1]: #ref-7

The `Fall of the Towers' and International Order

The attacks on America of 11 September 2001 present a grave policing problem for the international community but do not constitute a serious challenge to the norms of international society. Rather than a `war on terrorism', the international community is engaged in a hunt for a specific terrorist group, whose ideology - radical Islam - is not sufficiently broad in its appeal to constitute a genuine threat to the current international order. The particularist ideology of al-Qaeda is contrasted with that of an earlier challenge to international society in the 1960s at the time of the Vietnam War, the `Tricontinental Congress' and when a number of terrorist groups were operating within western society - the limited appeal of radical Islam to non-Muslims is in contrast with the universalist ideology espoused by these earlier groups, but, because of the religious basis of their ideology, it will be difficult to incorporate the leaders of al-Qaeda within conventional politics as has happened, in many cases, with the leaders of the earlier revolt against the West.

Solidarism and After: Global Governance, International Society and the Normative 'Turn' in International Relations

Shifts in the practices of global governance require rethinking of the constitutive norms of international society. In particular, challenges to the normative foundations of international society have arisen with the expansion of practices of international governance and a ‘solidarist’ turn in international society. These developments suggest the necessity of a pursuing a consensus on their legitimacy, which requires reflection on how to develop such a consensus among the members of international society and, beyond that, on whether this consensus should reflect not just interests of states but the values of their citizens as well. This paper also discusses the means whereby consensus and consent for the practices of global governance and a solidarist international society may be achieved, identifying recent thinking on the nature of good conversation and dialogical ethics as providing fruitful grounds from which this issue can be explored.

The economic community of West African states, the defence of democracy in Sierra Leone and future prospects

The wave of democratization in the 1990s has brought considerable challenges and opportunities for post‐cold war Africa. One such challenge is the democratic intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the aegis of the multilateral intervention force, ECOMOG, to restore a democratic government and constitutional order. The ECOWAS democratic intervention in the West African state of Sierra Leone can be located in a wider debate about international dimensions of democratization. In several respects, it also reflects the changing nature of international politics in the post‐cold war period particularly with regards to certain traditional norms of international society, namely non‐intervention and state sovereignty. The ECOWAS democratic efforts in Sierra Leone demonstrate that it is increasingly becoming acceptable for regional and international organisations to ‘defend’ democracy, albeit under the auspices of forcible as well as non‐forcible humanitarian intervention. However, these kinds of external intervention on behalf of democracy have in most cases led to its retrenchment. This article therefore critically assesses how the nature of domestic politics led to the suspension of democracy in Sierra Leone, the domestic and international implications of the ECOWAS defence of democracy there and the country's post‐conflict democratic prospects.

Global prohibition regimes: the evolution of norms in international society

The dynamics by which norms emerge and spread in international society have been the subject of strikingly little study. This article focuses on norms that prohibit, both in international law and in the domestic criminal laws of states, the involvement of state and nonstate actors in activities such as piracy, slavery, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, the hijacking of aircraft, and the killing of endangered animal species. It analyzes the manner in which these norms have evolved into and been institutionalized by global prohibition regimes and argues that there are two principal inducements to the formation and promotion of such regimes. The first is the inadequacy of unilateral and bilateral law enforcement measures in the face of criminal activities that transcend national borders. The second is the role of moral and emotional factors related to neither political nor economic advantage but instead involving religious beliefs, humanitarian sentiments, fears, prejudices, paternalism, faith in universalism, the individual conscience, and the compulsion to proselytize. The ultimate success or failure of an international regime in effectively suppressing a particular activity depends, however, not only on the degree of commitment to its norms or the extent of resources devoted to carrying out its goals but also on the vulnerability of the activity to its enforcement measures.