Research on norms has traditionally mostly focussed on organisations, even though states have a dominant role in norm-development. Additionally, despite the importance of cyber norms for governing...Show moreResearch on norms has traditionally mostly focussed on organisations, even though states have a dominant role in norm-development. Additionally, despite the importance of cyber norms for governing cyberspace, those norms are highly contested and still in their infancy. However, recent work by Egloff & Smeets (2021) theorised that actors can use public attribution statements, which serve to assign blame to perpetrators of cyberattacks, to promote norms. This thesis aims to fill those gaps by empirically analysing to what extent the EU, US, and UK integrated the norms they claim to promote, their normative agendas, in their responses to NotPetya, a major cyberattack. The findings demonstrated that states, the US and UK, indeed invoked their normative agendas in their responses to NotPetya, but only to the extent their national interests permitted, based on material interests. The EU, however, integrated its normative agenda to the extent it deemed appropriate, guided by ideational motivations. These analytically generalisable findings confirm Egloff & Smeets’ (2021) theory that states can, and do, use public attribution to promote their preferred norms. However, their underlying reasons for promoting norms impacts the general agreement in the social sciences that actors’ norm promoting behaviour is significantly influenced by ideational motivations (Wunderlich, 2013).Show less
Energy security in this day and age is an increasingly complex concept for policymakers to deal with. In order to sustain future economic growth while keeping in account issues of territorial...Show moreEnergy security in this day and age is an increasingly complex concept for policymakers to deal with. In order to sustain future economic growth while keeping in account issues of territorial disputes and environmental pollution, many scholars have anticipated a great role for ASEAN, the regional organisation in Southeast Asia, in fostering regional cooperation on energy security. The dominant perspective within the literature analyses ASEAN in practical terms of material outcomes and claims that ASEAN should follow a similar path as the European Union, focussing on functional cooperation. However, the current research concurs with a marginalised and underdeveloped perspective in the literature and claims that norms and the establishment of a regional identity are crucial in understanding cooperation on energy security in Southeast Asia. The contribution of the research is twofold. First, its analyses of ASEAN’s regional energy security policies, the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore power interconnection project and nuclear energy developments finds that ASEAN’s normative approach is crucial in understanding development of and the rationale behind cooperation on energy projects in the region. Secondly, it finds that contrary to the assumption of many scholars in the existing literature on energy security in ASEAN, ASEAN’s norms are not static but undergo change through a process of norm localisation, in which external norms and practices are adopted and localised within pre-existing institutional norms and practices. The thesis concludes that norms play a crucial role in ASEAN’s approach to fostering regional cooperation on energy security, dictating both form and function of cooperation. A normative approach is therefore key in gaining a better understanding of the development of energy security cooperation amongst Southeast Asian states.Show less
The Responsibility to Protect principle introduced both the state’s and the international community’s responsibility to protect human rights. The principle is regarded as an emergent norm that is...Show moreThe Responsibility to Protect principle introduced both the state’s and the international community’s responsibility to protect human rights. The principle is regarded as an emergent norm that is yet to be successfully diffused and classified as a global norm. This thesis assesses the principle’s normative trajectory through the use of Finnemore and Sikkink’s ‘norm life cycle theory’ (1998). This work works toward a better understanding of Russia’s approach towards the emergent norm of human rights by default. By assessing Russia’s approach towards intervention, this study reviews the claim that Russia seeks to undermine the norms that underpin R2P. This has been conducted via a qualitative case study that reviews the following cases: Georgia, Crimea, Libya and Syria. The findings demonstrate that although Russia is actively engaged with the principle’s norm development process, it did also attempt to interpret the norm according to its own preferences. However, only once was the norm was truly undermined - in the case of Crimea.Show less
There are many forms and types of culture - violent cultures, peaceful ones, democracy, authoritarian, civilian and military orientated ones among many more. This paper will pay attention to German...Show moreThere are many forms and types of culture - violent cultures, peaceful ones, democracy, authoritarian, civilian and military orientated ones among many more. This paper will pay attention to German military culture and how it shifted from an aggressive culture to a pacifistic one to a ‘defensive’ military culture since the 1990s. In particular, the text will focus on changes in recent time, studying the political incentives in the 1990s. Upon it, a new case study will be made looking at the 2010s and how the new White Papers in 2006 and 2016 have changed the official military culture.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is connecting the issue of women's rights to the controversial relations between the United States and Iran. Hereby the research provides insight in the role...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is connecting the issue of women's rights to the controversial relations between the United States and Iran. Hereby the research provides insight in the role nongovernmental women's rights organisations play in influencing American foreign policy towards Iran.Show less
This paper will explore the context of Hissène Habré conviction in 2017 of crimes against humanity, which is unusual as many other former heads of state committed far more serious crimes but were...Show moreThis paper will explore the context of Hissène Habré conviction in 2017 of crimes against humanity, which is unusual as many other former heads of state committed far more serious crimes but were never charged or called upon to account for their actions. This paper hypothesizes that the primary reason that Habré, unlike these other individuals, was charged and convicted, is the development of an anti-impunity or accountability norm in International Law and International Relations. This paper will seek to test this hypothesis by exploring two ideas. The first is whether or not there can be said to be a developing norm of accountability in international relations and international law. The second idea the paper will test is whether the completion of the trial of Hissène Habré can be attributed to this norm of accountability.Show less
This research explores the increasing role and the importance of the private sector in sustainable development through the lens of norm development within the study of International Relations. By...Show moreThis research explores the increasing role and the importance of the private sector in sustainable development through the lens of norm development within the study of International Relations. By examining different summits between the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015, it is seen that the increasing role of the private sector can be understood as a dynamic norm that is shaped and reshaped throughout its evolvement. In such, the research provides a better understanding of how the norm is constantly being defined and redefined, thus finding relevance and meaning throughout its emergence.Show less
Why did the overall attempt of Syrian opposition groups to democratize Syria, fail? The purpose of this study is to answer this question and identify this case as a case of norm non-diffusion in...Show moreWhy did the overall attempt of Syrian opposition groups to democratize Syria, fail? The purpose of this study is to answer this question and identify this case as a case of norm non-diffusion in the broad framework of social constructivism. This is interesting because most theorists seek to explain norm diffusion in terms of success rather than failure. It does this by defining norms and the way they typically diffuse. The study identifies persuasion tactics as set out by Keck and Sikkink (1999) and combines these tactics with socialization mechanisms as provided by Risse, Ropp and Sikkink (1999). This leads to the exposure of constructivists’ models, which will be discussed in the theoretical framework. During the analysis of this study four attempts of democratization are analyzed by these models. The focus of this analysis relies on the successful use of the tactics in a chronological way and stresses the importance of the presence of support by the Syrian state, the Syrian people and the U.S.Show less
It is interesting to look at what kind of norm the Responsibility to Protect truly is and what the effect of the norm in practice truly is. In theory a norm that creates a responsibility for the...Show moreIt is interesting to look at what kind of norm the Responsibility to Protect truly is and what the effect of the norm in practice truly is. In theory a norm that creates a responsibility for the international community to act when gross human rights violations occur sounds perfect. But, is the norm as perfect in practice as it is on paper? Is the Responsibility to Protect norm specifically created as a political instrument for states to call on so they have grounds to surpass the concept of state sovereignty? In the case that the Responsibility to Protect norm can be seen as a political instrument, is this out of humanitarian reasons or out of political motives? What are the consequences of a norm like the Responsibility to Protect in practice? These questions make clear that I’m curious about the purpose and the use of the Responsibility to Protect norm and for that I will look at different case studies. In these cases the Responsibility to Protect norm will be tested on usefulness to stop the violation of human rights. In order to establish the usefulness of the Responsibility to Protect norm I use four cases. Two prior to the official establishment of the norm, the Kosovo and Chechnya case. And, two case studies after the establishment of the Responsibility to Protect norm in order to see why the international community did or did not use the norm in these human rights crisis. These cases are: Libya (2011) and Syria (2012). I know it is very early to use Libya and Syria as case studies but they are already until this point in history very important to make my argument. In these cases the international community is involved in one way or another, but not always in the way intended by the Responsibility to Protect norm. This makes it interesting to see whether or not the Responsibility to Protect norm is just another hollow norm on paper, without any real effect in practice.Show less
