CH 11 International Law and Norms VOCABULARY INTERNATIONAL LAW a body of rules that binds states and other agents in world politics and is considered to have the status of law CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW international law that usually develops slowly over time as states recognize practices as appropriate and correct OBLIGATION the degree to which states are legally bound by an international rule PRECISION the degree to which international legal obligations are fully specified More precise rules narrow the scope for reasonable interpretation DELEGATION the degree to which third parties such as courts arbitrators or mediators are given authority to implement interpret and apply international legal rules to resolve disputes over the rules or to make additional rules NORMS standards of behavior for actors with a given identity norms define what actions are right or appropriate under particular circumstances NORM ENTREPRENEURS individuals and groups who seek to advance principled standards of behavior for states and other actors TRANSNATIONAL ADVOCACY NETWORK a set of individuals and nongovernmental organizations acting in pursuit of a normative objective NORMS LIFE CYCLE a three stage model of how norms diffuse within a population and achieve a taken for granted status BOOMERANG MODEL a process through which NGOs in one state are able to activate transnational linkages to bring pressure from other states on their own governments I International Law Rules that constrain Customary laws o Custom or accepted practice that develops slowly as state recognize some practices as appropriate and correct Example the law of diplomatic immunity ambassadors and other embassy staff are exempt from a host nation s law This practice became a law by custom Formal law o International treaties duly negotiated and ratified by states Characteristics of international laws o Obligation o Precision o Delegation High obligation laws are unconditional and if breached require reparations to an injured party Low obligations laws are merely aspirational urging states to live up to some standard of behavior More precise laws narrow the scope for reasonable interpretations International treaties run to hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages of definitions terms and rues Other agreements are remarkably imprecise This is not a product of poor draftsmanship but usually reflect disagreement between states over the exact nature of the obligation Vague terms ensure the bargaining will not close Ranges from international courts with broad jurisdiction binding decision making powers and the ability to set legal precedents With even less delegated authority are various mediators who can recommend more or less binding solutions to disagreements Obligation precision and delegation can be put together into a single continuum of hard and soft laws Hard laws obligatory precisely defined and delegates substantial authority to third parties Soft laws exhortatory ambiguous and does not delegate significant powers to third parties Countries often adopt soft laws because it is easier to achieve more flexible and therefore better suited for the unknown future o Hard and Soft Laws Does International Law Matter o Proponents o Skeptics Overall compliance rates are high They see international law as an effective perhaps essential tool in facilitating cooperation and managing conflicts Imprecise law law is seldom precise enough to deal with every possible interaction between actors Countries only sign agreements and make laws that serve their interest and obligate them to undertake actions they would want to do anyway II International Norms Creating International norms o Standards of behavior o Types of norms Norms can be codified into both hard and soft international law Example recognize nuclear weapons as taboo but no where found in international law This obviously means that they an be breached Constitutive norms define who is legitimate or appropriate actor under what circumstances Examples Sovereignty National self determination the norm holds that all peoples have a right to determine freely their own national political status Procedural norms define how decisions involving multiple actors should get made Regulative norms govern the behavior of actors in their interactions with other actors Examples Election monitoring The taboo of nuclear weapon use Identifying Norms o Often difficult to identify because when not written down they exist only by collective assent o Norms are often most easily observed when they are violated Example since 1945 there has been a growing norm against changing international borders through the use of force known as territorial integrity norm When Saddam Hussein invaded and seized Kuwait in August 1990 the international community quickly condemned his actions Institutionalizing Norms o For a principle or idea to become institutionalized as a norm the standard of behavior it specifies must be accepted as morally right and appropriate by a large portion of a population o Some principles become norms simply by the force of their own inherent goodness Nuclear taboo international organizations o Other norms are propagated by powerful states or through The Washington Consensus on economic liberalism was promoted by the US through the IMF and World Bank Norm entrepreneurs o The individuals and groups that seek to advance a principled standard of behavior o Norm entrepreneurs typically form Transnational Advocacy Networks TANs interest groups that span state boundaries TANs promote norms to alter interests and interactions Not backed punished by the government Norm Life Cycle how TANS shape norms and interests and thus political outcomes o Stage 1 Convince Actively work to convince people in other states to embrace the norm belief o Stage 2 Cascade Occurs as the number of adherents passes a tipping point beyond which the idea gains sufficient support and becomes a nearly universal standard of behavior o Stage 3 Internalize The norms becomes so widely accepted that they acquire the taken for granted quality that makes conforming almost automatic III Transnational Advocacy Networks Do Norms Matter o They try their best to make it matter o Even when violated they can still matter Redefining Interests o Trying to influence what you believe is appropriate and not appropriate shape the definition of what is right o One way of doing this is by Naming and Shaming By calling attention to violations of norms they
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