Do norms travel? The case of gender in Danish development cooperation

Abstract

Questioning diffusion and translation as central concepts describing how norms influence policies, the article analyses the drafting process of a recent gender equality policy in Danish development cooperation. Three global norms (gender mainstreaming, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and women’s empowerment) and their influence on the policy are examined, and it is argued that the contingency of policymaking circumscribes the role of global norms. A variety of intra- and extra-organizational factors affect the drafting of the policy, and it is the interaction between these factors and the norms, rather than diffusion or translation of global norms, that best describes the normative influence on Danish gender equality policy.

Global norms and heterogeneous development organizations

“…In some organizations, the pressure for disbursement is significant, and gender equality is rarely a concern that can move a lot of money quickly. Conversely, in the case of Danida, when faced with continuous administrative cuts, a significant organizational priority shaping the context of the new gender equality policy was that it should require as little administrative capacity as possible (Engberg-Pedersen, 2018).…”

“…Many Danish development ministers have repeatedly stated their support for gender equality, but several evaluations note the limited success of gender mainstreaming. Thus, the absence of the minister when a new gender policy is presented to the public sends a signal about how it is prioritized (Engberg-Pedersen, 2018). Nonetheless formal priorities may be important, especially if they are in line with staff perceptions of informal pressures and priorities.…”

“…The multidirectional nature of norm translation is exemplified in Danida’s most recent gender policy, which to some extent questions the norm of gender mainstreaming while advocating sexual and reproductive health and rights as a norm to be widely established internationally. The policy goes to great lengths to situate itself in an international normative framework, but at the same time it reflects a deliberate engagement with international norms, reframing one and advocating another (Engberg-Pedersen, 2018). The story of how the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan was elaborated is rather different.…”

‘Doing gender’: impacts of local meaning making on gender mainstreaming in agricultural and climate change policy in Uganda

“…The way in which norm translation is largely conceptualized in policy studies conveys the expectation that there are globally negotiated norms that are translated and adopted into local contexts without major changes (Engberg-Pedersen, 2018;Engberg-Pedersen et al, 2020;Zwingel, 2012). However, this view neglects important processes of contestation and appropriation (Zwingel, 2012, p. 118) that regularly occur at the local level.…”

“…"shifting, moving terms around, linking and General Introduction 1 changing them" (Law, 2009, p. 144). It involves acknowledging that norms and policy ideas do not simply spread into new contexts through processes of diffusion (Engberg-Pedersen, 2018), but that translation processes can only be enacted through interpretive acts. In other words, translation cannot happen without interpretation.…”