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Between Banyans and battle scenes: liberal norms, contestation, and the limits of critique
[journal article]
Abstract In studying the global spread and implementation of liberal norms, scholars have moved from linear notions of norm diffusion and promotion to an emphasis on norm contestation. Contestation by the supposed beneficiaries and addressees has taken centre stage in both research on the norms that underpin... view more
In studying the global spread and implementation of liberal norms, scholars have moved from linear notions of norm diffusion and promotion to an emphasis on norm contestation. Contestation by the supposed beneficiaries and addressees has taken centre stage in both research on the norms that underpin global governance and in studies on democracy promotion and liberal peacebuilding. While the impetus of this scholarship is normative - to overcome the taken-for-granted nature of liberal norms - the concept of contestation itself is mainly used with an analytical interest. Yet, as we show in this article, contestation also comes with - oftentimes implicit - normative connotations. Focusing on the seminal work of Milja Kurki, Oliver Richmond, Antje Wiener, and Amitav Acharya, we reconstruct these normative connotations. It turns out that the normative take on contestation is fairly conventional in all four approaches. Contestation is largely seen as a means to enable dialogue, as illustrated by Acharya's metaphor of the Banyan tree. Fundamental conflicts over liberal norms ('battle scenes') are either not considered or seen as normatively undesirable. As a way forward, we propose a typology that enables scholars to empirically analyse contestation in its different expressions and suggest two strategies to normatively assess practices of contestation.... view less
Keywords
standard; diffusion; conflict; international conflict; international relations
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Political Science
Free Keywords
Internationale Norm; Liberale Theorie (Internationale Beziehungen); Normativer Ansatz; Kritik; Kurki, Milja; Richmond, Oliver P.; Wiener, Antje; Acharya, Amitav
Document language
English
Publication Year
2016
Page/Pages
p. 513-534
Journal
Review of International Studies, 42 (2016) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210515000534
ISSN
1469-9044
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications
With the permission of the rights owner, this publication is under open access due to a (DFG-/German Research Foundation-funded) national or Alliance license.