Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T07:54:24.344Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Norms and Social Hierarchies: Understanding International Policy Diffusion “From Below”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2012

Ann E. Towns
Ann E. Towns
Affiliation:
University West, Trollhättan, Sweden. E-mail: ann.towns@hv.se
Get access

Abstract

This article aims to rethink the operation of norms in international policy diffusion. Norms do not simply standardize state behaviors, as is conventionally argued; norms also draw on and set up hierarchical social orders among states. Through a conceptual rethinking we gain a better understanding of where—among which states—new policies may first emerge: social hierarchies create incentives for new policies to develop at the margins of international society so that policies may diffuse “from below.” We also get a better grasp of how policy advocates frame the appropriateness or benefits of a new state practice: they must frame policy demands in terms of the international standing and rank of the targeted state. This article's empirical aspiration is to use these insights to help account for the international policy diffusion of legal sex quotas, a policy to increase the level of female legislators that developed first among “developing” states rather than among the so-called core of international society. By pointing to the link between norms and social hierarchy, the article helps account for policy diffusion “from below.”

Type
Research Article
Information
International Organization , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 179 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abdela, Lesley. 2001. Women Lose Ground: Quotas Are the Only Way to Ensure an Adequate Number of Female MPs. Guardian 8 May.Google Scholar
Annan, Kofi. 1997. “Inaugural Address.” United Nations International Conference on Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity, 28–30 July, New York.Google Scholar
Asplund, Bo (UNDP Resident Representative). 2003. “Statement at the Public Discussion ‘Indonesian Women Welcoming the General Elections 2004: Preparedness and Strategy’ and Launch of UNDP's Publication Women's Political Participation and Good Governance: 21st Century Challenges,” 6 March, Jakarta. Available at ⟨www.undp.or.id/statements/20030307_rrspeech.asp⟩. Accessed 15 October 2003.Google Scholar
Bauer, Antje. 2002. Afghan Women and the Democratic Reconstruction of Afghanistan: Findings and Interviews from a Journalist's Field Trip. Berlin: Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management.Google Scholar
Bennet, Colin. 1991. What Is Policy Convergence and What Causes It? British Journal of Political Science 21 (2):215–33.Google Scholar
Berkovitch, Nitza. 1994. From Motherhood to Citizenship: The Worldwide Incorporation of Women into the Public Sphere in the Twentieth Century. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.Google Scholar
Berkovitch, Nitza. 1999. From Motherhood to Citizenship. Women's Rights and International Organizations. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Bush, Sarah. 2011. International Politics and the Spread of Quotas for Women in Legislatures. International Organization 65 (1):103–37.Google Scholar
Cancian, Francesca. 1975. What Are Norms? A Study of Beliefs and Action in a Maya Community. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Checkel, Jeffrey. 1999. Norms, Institutions and National Identity in Contemporary Europe. International Studies Quarterly 43:83–114.Google Scholar
Checkel, Jeffrey. 2001. Why Comply? Social Learning and European Identity Change. International Organization 55 (3):553–88.Google Scholar
Congress of Peru. 1997. Debate del Texto Sustitutorio del Proyecto de les General de Elecciones, Segunda Legislatura Ordinaria de 1996, 24 sess., 18 June, 2519–2521.Google Scholar
Dahlerup, Drude. 2011. Engendering Representative Democracy. In The Future of Representative Democracy, edited by Alonso, Sonia, Keane, John, and Merkel, Wolfgang, 144–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dahrendorf, Ralf. 1968. Essays in the Theory of Society. Palo Alto, Calif.: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
De Nevers, Renee. 2007. Imposing International Norms: Great Powers and Norm Enforcement. International Studies Review 9 (1):53–80.Google Scholar
Dollar, David, Fisman, Raymond, and Gatti, Roberta. 1999. Are Women Really the ‘Fairer’ Sex? Corruption and Women in Government. World Bank Policy Research Report on Gender and Development. Working Paper Series No. 4. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar
Dollar, David, Fisman, Raymond, and Gatti, Roberta. 2001. Are Women Really the ‘Fairer’ Sex? Corruption and Women in Government. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 46 (4):423–29.Google Scholar
Dolowitz, David P., and Marsh, David. 1996. Who Learns What from Whom? A Review of the Policy Transfer Literature. Political Studies 44 (2):343–57.Google Scholar
Dolowitz, David P., and Marsh, David. 2000. Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in Contemporary Policy-Making. Governance 13 (1):5–24.Google Scholar
Drezner, Daniel. 2005. Globalization, Harmonization, and Competition: The Different Pathways to Policy Convergence. Journal of European Public Policy 12 (5):841–59.Google Scholar
Elkins, Zachary, Guzman, Andrew, and Simmons, Beth A.. 2006. International Economic Transactions: The Spread of Bilateral Investment Treaties. International Organization 60 (4):811–46.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha. 1993. International Organizations as Teachers of Norms: The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and Science Policy. International Organization 47 (4):565–97.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha. 1996. National Interest in International Society. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha, and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. International Organization 52 (4):887–917.Google Scholar
Frank, David John, and McEneaney, Elizabeth. 1999. The Individualization of Society and the Liberalization of State Policies on Same-Sex Sexual Relations, 1984–1995. Social Forces 77 (3):911–44.Google Scholar
Frey Nakonz, Regula. 1999. Genderdimension von Korruption. Paper written for Bread for All, Berne, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Fundación Friedrich Ebert. 1992. Cuota mínima de participación de mujeres. El debate en Argentina. Buenos Aires: Fundación Friedrich Ebert.Google Scholar
Giddens, Anthony. 1979. Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure and Contradiction in Social Analysis. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Gilpin, Robert. 1981. War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gleditsch, Kristian, and Ward, Michael. 2006. Diffusion and the International Context of Democratization. International Organization 60 (4):911–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hira, Anil. 1998. Ideas and Economic Policy in Latin America: Regional, National, and Organizational Case Studies. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.Google Scholar
Htun, Mala, and Jones, Mark. 2002. Engendering the Right to Participate in Decision-Making: Electoral Quotas and Women's Leadership in Latin America. In Gender and the Politics of Rights and Democracy in Latin America, edited by Craske, Nikki and Molyneux, Maxine, 32–56. New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Ikenberry, John, and Kupchan, Charles. 1990. Socialization and Hegemonic Power. International Organization 44 (3):283–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). 2010. Global Database of Quotas for Women. Available at ⟨http://www.quotaproject.org/⟩. Accessed 10 August 2010.Google Scholar
Inter-American Commission of Women. 1994. Strategic Plan of Action of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM). 27th Assembly of Delegates of the Inter-American Commission of Women. Washington, D.C.: Organization of American States.Google Scholar
Inter-American Commission of Women. 1999. Plan of Action of the CIM on Women's Participation in Power and Decision Making Structures. CIM/Ser.L./II.8.1. Washington, D.C.: Organization of American States.Google Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1994. Plan of Action to Correct Present Imbalances in the Participation of Men and Women in Political Life. Available at ⟨http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/planactn.htm⟩. Accessed 7 August 2010.Google Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1995. Beijing Parliamentary Declaration. Adopted by consensus by participants to Parliamentarians' Day on the Occasion of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 7 September). ⟨http://www.ipu.org.splz-e/beijing.htm⟩. Accessed 7 March 2012.Google Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1997. Towards Partnership Between Men and Women in Politics. New Delhi, 14–18 February 1997. Series: “Reports and Documents” No. 29. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.Google Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2011. Women in National Parliaments—Situation as of 30 April 2011. Available at ⟨http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm⟩. Accessed 30 June 2011.Google Scholar
Karam, Azza. 1998. Beijing + 5: Women's Political Participation: Review of Strategies and Trends. Background Paper No. 1 for the UNDP Meeting on Women and Political Participation: 21st Century Challenges, 24–26 March 1999, New Delhi, India.Google Scholar
Katzenstein, Peter. 1996. Introduction: Alternative Perspectives on National Security. In The Culture of National Security. Norms and Identity in World Politics, edited by Katzenstein, Peter, 1–32. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret, and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Kelley, Judith. 2004. International Actors on the Domestic Scene: Membership Conditionality and Socialization by International Institutions. International Organization 58 (3):425–57.Google Scholar
Kramer, Jane. 2000. Liberty, Equality, Sorority: French Women Demand Their Share. The New Yorker (29 May): 112–23.Google Scholar
Kratochwil, Friedrich. 1988. Regimes, Interpretation, and the “Science” of Politics: A Reappraisal. Millenium 17 (2):263–84.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2006. Reforming Representation: The Diffusion of Candidate Gender Quotas Worldwide. Gender and Politics 2:303–27.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2007. National Solution or Model from Abroad? Analyzing International Influences on the Parity Movement in France. French Politics 5 (1):3–19.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics. Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena, Lovenduski, Joni, and Squires, Judith. 2009. Gender Quotas and Models of Political Citizenship. British Journal of Political Science 39 (4):781–803.Google Scholar
Laffey, Mark, and Weldes, Jutta. 1997. Beyond Belief: Ideas and Symbolic Technologies in the Study of International Relations. European Journal of International Relations 3 (1):1–45.Google Scholar
Lee, Chang Kil, and Strang, David. 2006. The International Diffusion of Public-Sector Downsizing: Network Emulation and Theory-Driven Learning. International Organization 60 (4):883–909.Google Scholar
Lenoir, Noëlle. 2001. The Representation of Women in Politics: From Quotas to Parity in Election. International and Comparative Law Quarterly 50 (April):217–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowe Morna, Colleen. 2000. Towards Sustainable Democratic Institutions in Southern Africa. Paper presented at the International SADC-IDEAS Conference Women's Political Participation in SADC, May, Gaborone, Botswana.Google Scholar
Lubertino Beltrán, M. José. 1992. Historia de la “Ley de Cuotas.” In Cuotas Minima de Participación de Mujeres: El Debate in Argentina, 9–43. Buenos Aires: Fundación Friedrich Ebert.Google Scholar
Majone, Giandomenico. 1991. Cross-National Sources of Regulatory Policymaking in Europe and the United States. Journal of Public Policy 11 (1):79–106.Google Scholar
March, James G., and Olsen, Johan P.. 1989. Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Matland, Richard. 1998. Box 1. The Effect of Development and Culture on Women's Representation. In International IDEA Handbook on Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, edited by Karam, Azza, 65–90. Stockholm: IDEA.Google Scholar
McDonagh, Eileen. 2009. The Motherless State: Women's Political Leadership and American Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
McNamara, Kathleen. 2002. Rational Fictions: Central Bank Independence and the Social Logic of Delegation. West European Politics 25 (1):47–76.Google Scholar
Meier, Petra. 2004. The Mutual Contagion Effect of Legal and Party Quotas. A Belgian Perspective. Party Politics 10 (5):583–600.Google Scholar
Meyer, John. 1980. The World Polity and the Authority of the Nation-State. In Studies of the Modern World System, edited by Bergesen, Albert J., 109–37. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Meyer, John, Boli, John, Thomas, George M., and Ramirez, Francisco O.. 1997. World Society and the Nation-State. American Journal of Sociology 103 (1):144–82.Google Scholar
Millar, Nancy. 2007. Envisioning a U.S. Government That Isn't 84% Male: What the United States Can Learn from Sweden, Rwanda, Burundi, and Other Nations. University of Miami Law Review 62 (1):129–56.Google Scholar
Milliken, Jennifer. 1999. The Study of Discourse in International Relations: A Critique of Research and Methods. European Journal of International Relations 5 (2):225–54.Google Scholar
Moline, Ann. 2002. World Bank to Rate All Projects for Gender Impact. Women's E-News, 4 April. ⟨http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/866/context/archive⟩ Accessed 2 December 2003.Google Scholar
Mujer y Sociedad. 1986. Cuotas Femeninas 6 (2):11.Google Scholar
Mutume, Gumisai. 2001. Gender Discrimination Not Good for Growth. One World, March 7. Available at ⟨www.twnside.org.sg/title/gender.htm⟩. Accessed 14 October 2008.Google Scholar
Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The Social System. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Praud, Jocelyne, and Dauphin, Sandrine. 2010. Parity Democracy. Women's Political Representation in Fifth Republic France. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Price, Richard. 1997. The Chemical Weapons Taboo. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Ramirez, Francisco, and McEneaney, Elizabeth. 1997. From Women's Suffrage to Reproduction Rights? Cross-National Considerations. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 38 (1-2):6–35.Google Scholar
Ramirez, Francisco, Soysal, Yasemin, and Shanahan, Suzanne. 1997. The Changing Logic of Political Citizenship: Cross-National Acquisition of Women's Suffrage Rights, 1890–1990. American Sociological Review 62 (5):736–47.Google Scholar
Risse, Thomas, and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1999. The Socialization of International Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practices: Introduction. In The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change, edited by Risse, Thomas, Ropp, Stephen C., and Sikkink, Kathryn, 1–38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard. 1991. What Is Lesson-Drawing? Journal of Public Policy 11 (1):3–30.Google Scholar
Sandholtz, Wayne. 2007. Prohibiting Plunder: How Norms Change. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Scott, Joan Wallach. 2005. Parité! Sexual Equality and the Crisis of French Universalism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sharman, Jason C. 2008. Power and Discourse in Policy Diffusion: Anti-Money Laundering in Developing States. International Studies Quarterly 52 (3):635–56.Google Scholar
Simmons, Ann, and Wright, Robin. 2000. Gender Quotas Put Uganda in Role of Pioneer. Los Angeles Times 23 February.Google Scholar
Simmons, Beth A. 2001. The International Politics of Harmonization: The Case of Capital Market Regulation. International Organization 55 (3):589–620.Google Scholar
Simmons, Beth A., Dobbin, Frank, and Garrett, Geoffrey. 2006. Introduction: The International Diffusion of Liberalism. International Organization 60 (4):781–810.Google Scholar
Stone, Diane. 2000. Non-Governmental Policy Transfer: The Strategies of Independent Policy Institutes. Governance 13 (1):45–62.Google Scholar
Stückelberger, Christoph. 2003. Continue Fighting Corruption. Experiences and Tasks of Churches and Development Agencies. Geneva: Bread for All.Google Scholar
Swamy, Anand, Knack, Stephen, Lee, Young, and Azfar, Omar. 2001. Gender and Corruption. Journal of Development Economics 64 (1):25–55.Google Scholar
Swank, Duane. 2006. Tax Policy in an Era of Internationalization: Explaining the Spread of Neoliberalism. International Organization 60 (4):847–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Daniel. 2001. The Helsinki Effect: International Norms, Human Rights, and the Demise of Communism. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Threlfall, Monica. 2007. Explaining Gender Parity Representation in Spain: The Internal Dynamics of Parties. West European Politics 30 (5):1068–95.Google Scholar
Towns, Ann. 2009. The Status of Women as a Standard of ‘Civilization.’ European Journal of International Relations 15 (4):681–706.Google Scholar
Towns, Ann. 2010. Women and States: Norms and Hierarchies in International Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tripp, Aili Marie. 2003. The Changing Face of Africa's Legislatures: Women and Quotas. Paper presented at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)/Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA)/Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum Conference, 11–12 November, Pretoria, South Africa. Available at ⟨http://www.quotaproject.org/CS/CS_Tripp_2004.pdf⟩. Accessed 25 May 2010.Google Scholar
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. 1990. Report of the Commission on the Status of Women in Its Thirty-fourth Session. Supplement 5.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Fund for Women. 2000. Progress of the World's Women 2000. New York: UNIFEM.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 1995. Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 1997. Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 1999. Women and Political Participation: 21st Century Challenges. Draft Aid Memoire, 24–26 March, New Delhi, India.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2000. Women's Political Participation and Good Governance: 21st Century Challenges. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Valiente, Celia. 2005. The Women's Movement, Gender Equality Agencies and Central-State Debates on Political Representation in Spain. In State Feminism and Political Representation, edited by Lovenduski, Joni, 174–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt. 2005. Theories of Policy Diffusion: Lessons from Latin American Pension Reform. World Politics 57 (January):262–95.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2001. Engendering Development—Through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources and Voice. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2002. Integrating Gender into the World Bank's Work: A Strategy for Action. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar