The Rule of Law in Inter-National Relations: Contestation Despite Diffusion – Diffusion Through Contestation

Forthcoming in: May, Christopher and Adam Winchester, eds, Handbook on the Rule of Law, Edward Elgar Publ

30 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2018

See all articles by Antje Wiener

Antje Wiener

Universität Hamburg; University of Cambridge, Hughes Hall; Centre for Sustainable Society Research (CSS)

Date Written: June 11, 2018

Abstract

This chapter discusses the rule of law as fundamental norm of global governance. Like most such norms, its universal validity claim is globally well diffused, yet locally contested. Despite high recognition in the global realm, a norm’s impact never corresponds with its cover. It is as much a common sense among international lawyers that a norm’s acceptance grows with the degree of elusiveness, as it is a shared wisdom among International Relations theorists that a norm’s acceptance depends on social recognition. This is unlikely to change. Universal validity claims never fit seamlessly in environments where they stand to be implemented. They are continuously challenged through the mobilisation of particularistic validity claims. How contested meanings of norms play out thus remains a central issue of global governance. While there is a growing IR literature taking into account cultural background experience, this literature remains notably silent on norms. This has left a gap between norms as a subject of legal studies and the cultural generation of knowledge as a subject of sociology or cultural studies. This chapter proposes a framework for norms research to account for these everyday practices.

Keywords: Rule of Law, Norms, Contestation, Diffusion, International Relations Theory, International Law

Suggested Citation

Wiener, Antje, The Rule of Law in Inter-National Relations: Contestation Despite Diffusion – Diffusion Through Contestation (June 11, 2018). Forthcoming in: May, Christopher and Adam Winchester, eds, Handbook on the Rule of Law, Edward Elgar Publ, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3193900 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3193900

University of Cambridge, Hughes Hall ( email )

Trinity Ln
Cambridge, CB2 1TN
United Kingdom

Centre for Sustainable Society Research (CSS) ( email )

Von-Melle-Park 5
Hamburg, 20146
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/en/fachbereich-sowi/professuren/wiener/team/wiener-antje.html

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