Lost boomerangs, the rebound effect and transnational advocacy networks: a discursive approach to norm diffusion

Abstract

This article aims to show the added value of studying transnational advocacy networks through a discursive approach in order to better understand the outcomes of norm diffusion in postconflict contexts. I argue that constructivist approaches to norm diffusion fall short as an explanation of norm adoption because they assume an automatic process of norm propagation through socialisation mechanisms. The first goal of the article is then to discuss how the internal dynamics of discourse negotiation in transnational advocacy networks impact the diffusion and implementation of international norms. The second goal is to propose the concept of the rebound effect and to explore the conditions under which it takes place. Through data collected during extended fieldwork, the article examines a prominent case, namely the transnational campaign for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security in Burundi and Liberia. I ask why and how the campaign was understood as a success in Liberia and as a failure in Burundi. I argue that there is another way of looking at these cases in less dichotomised ways. Crucially, my findings demonstrate how in both cases a very particular discourse on gender security is (re)produced through power relations between local and transnational activists limiting the type of policies that are advocated for and depoliticising the grassroots.

Daring to differ? Strategies of inclusion in peacemaking

“…The dominant framing across all document types, however, are closed framings, and, within this, specifically references to women. This is unsurprising given the number of UNSC resolutions that have been adopted in the past two decades as part of the UN’s WPS agenda, which has been accompanied by significant international advocacy efforts to promote women’s inclusion in peacemaking (de Almagro, 2018; True and Wiener, 2019). Our interviews with practitioners similarly suggest a widespread equation of ‘inclusion’ with ‘the inclusion of women’ among mediation professionals.…”

Inclusive of Whom, and for What Purpose? Strategies of Inclusion in Peacemaking

“…The dominant framings across all document types, however, are closed framings, and among these, references to women. This is unsurprising given the number of UNSC resolutions that were adopted in the past two decades as part of the UN's WPS agenda, which has been accompanied by significant international advocacy efforts to promote women's inclusion in peacemaking (Martin de Almagro, 2018;True and Wiener, 2019). Our interviews with practitioners similarly suggest a widespread equation of 'inclusion' with 'women's inclusion' among mediation professionals, indicating that the inclusion agenda has been decidedly shaped by the WPS agenda.…”

Learning Targets: Policy Paradigms and State Responses to the Anticorruption Transnational Advocacy Network Campaign in Guatemala

“…Much of the TAN literature further embraces the "norm life cycle model," according to which norms initially gain a foothold in the Global North and then "cascade" to become institutionalized around the world (Finnemore and Sikkink 1998). TANs thereby act as norm entrepreneurs in their interactions with Global North states and international organizations (Risse 2007) and as agents of norm socialization across the Global South (Keck and Sikkink 1998;Zwingel 2012;Martín de Almagro 2018).…”