- Chair of Political Science, especially Global Governance
Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
Universität Hamburg
https://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/en/fachbereich-sowi/professuren/wiener/team/wiener-antje.html
Antje Wiener
University of Hamburg, Institute of Political Science, Faculty Member
- University of Hamburg, Law, Faculty MemberUniversity of Cambridge, Hughes Hall, Department Memberadd
- Professor Antje Wiener holds the Chair of Political Science, especially Global Governance at the University of Hambur... moreProfessor Antje Wiener holds the Chair of Political Science, especially Global Governance at the University of Hamburg where she is a member of the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences as well as the Law Faculty. She is an elected By-Fellow of Hughes Hall University of Cambridge, a Fellow of the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences, and a Member of the Academia Europea. Her research and teaching centres on International Relations (IR) theory, especially norms research and contestation theory. And previously she held Chairs in International Studies at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Bath and taught at the Universities of Stanford, Carleton, Sussex and Hannover. Current research projects include ‘Contested Climate Justice in Sensitive Regions’ at the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change and Society (CLICCS) as well as ‘Doing Theory – From Where and What For? A Backpackers’ Guide to Knowledge Production’ at the Centre for Sustainable Society Research (CSS) among others. With James Tully, she is co-founding editor of Global Constitutionalism (CUP, since 2012 ). And she also edits the Norm Research in International Relations Series (Springer). She currently serves on several Committees of the Academy of Social Sciences and she has been re-appointed to the ESRC‘s Global Challenges Research Fund Peer Review College in 2019. In 2021, she concluded her second three-year term as elected member of the Executive Committee of the German Political Science Association (DVPW). Her most recent book ‘Contestation and Constitution of Norms in Global International Relations’ (CUP 2018) was awarded the International Law Section’s Book Prize in 2020. ‘Contesting the World: Norm Research in Theory and Practice’ co-edited with Phil Orchard is coming soon (CUP 2024).edit
Research Interests:
... Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter www.reconproject.eu ... Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1666688 Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter Informal elite dialogue and democratic control in EU foreign and security policy RECON... more
... Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter www.reconproject.eu ... Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1666688 Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter Informal elite dialogue and democratic control in EU foreign and security policy RECON Online Working Paper 2010/12 July ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Der Beitrag diskutiert die verfassungsrechtliche Berücksichtigung von Vielfalt in demokratischen Ordnungen jenseits des Staates. Der empirische Fokus richtet sich auf die Rolle von Normen und ihre unterschiedliche Konzeptionalisierung in... more
Der Beitrag diskutiert die verfassungsrechtliche Berücksichtigung von Vielfalt in demokratischen Ordnungen jenseits des Staates. Der empirische Fokus richtet sich auf die Rolle von Normen und ihre unterschiedliche Konzeptionalisierung in der Sozialwissenschaft. Es wird gezeigt, dass zwar der in behavioristischen Fragestellungen wurzelnde moderne oder‚ konventionelle’ Konstruktivismus (welche Norm wirkt sich wie aus?) durch Bezug auf die Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns Legitimationsfragen in den Vordergrund rückt (welche Norm zählt in einer guten Ordnung?). Der Beitrag zeigt jedoch mit Rekurs auf Tullys Arbeiten, dass eine normative Erweiterung auf Grundlage der konsequenten Anwendung des Demokratieprinzips in Zusammenwirkung mit dem Konstitutionalismusprinzip notwendig ist (welche Normbedeutung ist in einer vielfältigen Gemeinschaft akzeptabel?), denn erst durch die Berücksichtigung dieser Dimension gelingt es, die derzeit in den Theorien der internationalen Beziehungen oft hand...
Research Interests:
Der Beitrag diskutiert die verfassungsrechtliche Berücksichtigung von Vielfalt in demokratischen Ordnungen jenseits des Staates. Der empirische Fokus richtet sich auf die Rolle von Normen und ihre unterschiedliche Konzeptionalisierung in... more
Der Beitrag diskutiert die verfassungsrechtliche Berücksichtigung von Vielfalt in demokratischen Ordnungen jenseits des Staates. Der empirische Fokus richtet sich auf die Rolle von Normen und ihre unterschiedliche Konzeptionalisierung in der Sozialwissenschaft. Es wird gezeigt, dass zwar der in behavioristischen Fragestellungen wurzelnde moderne oder ‚konventionelle’ Konstruktivismus (welche Norm wirkt sich wie aus?) durch Bezug auf die Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns Legitimationsfragen in den Vordergrund rückt (welche Norm zählt in einer guten Ordnung?). Der Beitrag zeigt jedoch mit Rekurs auf Tullys Arbeiten, dass eine normative Erweiterung auf Grundlage der konsequenten Anwendung des Demokratieprinzips in Zusammenwirkung mit dem Konstitutionalismusprinzip notwendig ist (welche Normbedeutung ist in einer vielfältigen Gemeinschaft akzeptabel?), denn erst durch die Berücksichtigung dieser Dimension gelingt es, die derzeit in den Theorien der internationalen Beziehungen oft hand...
What actors make of norms matters, in particular, in situations of crisis when the contextual conditions for norm interpretation are enhanced. That is, situations of crisis add an additional factor of pressure next to the conditions of... more
What actors make of norms matters, in particular, in situations of crisis when the contextual conditions for norm interpretation are enhanced. That is, situations of crisis add an additional factor of pressure next to the conditions of normative contingency and moving the social practice of governance beyond the boundaries of modern states. The addition of time requires fast decisions thus leaving little room for deliberation about a norm’s meaning. Contrary to the expectation that based on an increasing constitutional quality in beyond-the-state contexts, actors can build on and refer to a set of formally and informally shared principles for information and guidance in designing common action and policies, we hold that norm interpretation in international relations is challenged by the absence of cultural background information. If this observation holds, it follows that the often observed constitutional quality beyond the state which includes the formalization of the role of inter...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Altneuland: The European Constitutional Terrain It is in many respects a New Land - for the first time the Union is openly, officially using the word Constitution in its formal self-understanding. But this, in turn, places it, at least... more
Altneuland: The European Constitutional Terrain It is in many respects a New Land - for the first time the Union is openly, officially using the word Constitution in its formal self-understanding. But this, in turn, places it, at least lexically, in the age old terrain of ...
Research Interests:
There are two c’s in “global constitutionalism”: constitutionalization and constitutionalism. A third c, constitution, comes to mind; however, it is traditionally established to keep the politics of governments in check. The... more
There are two c’s in “global constitutionalism”: constitutionalization and constitutionalism. A third c, constitution, comes to mind; however, it is traditionally established to keep the politics of governments in check. The constitutional norms, principles, and procedures provide a reference frame that operates as a third angle to two conflicting parties. Typically, the notion of global constitutionalism or its precursors emerges in the environment of international organizations and reflects the need to qualify regulatory practices or to put constitutional principles in place. The European Union (EU), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the United Nations (UN) have been among the first organizational contexts in which constitutionalization has become a common feature, with the intention of qualifying world trade, environmental, human rights, and postconflict policies based on constitutional principles. These changes reflect a shift from globalized toward constitutionalized international relations. Politically, this development indicates potential conflict following contested constitutional norms, principles, and procedures. This situation raises the question of whether and to what extent the familiar (modern) constitutional reference frame is suitable for assessing and understanding constitutionalism beyond the state. In the absence of government in the global realm, reference to any of the three c’s in international relations (IR) theory and international law discourse, respectively, presents both a puzzle and a trigger for the emerging debate about global constitutionalism. For the developing interdisciplinary research program on global constitutionalism, it is most important to distinguish between the central concepts of constitutionalism and constitutionalization. “Constitutionalization” is defined as a process by which institutional arrangements in the nonconstitutional global realm have taken on a constitutional quality. This process frequently occurs in a relatively spontaneous, little coordinated, and even elusive manner. Therefore the emergence and the very constitutional quality of this process remain to be established by further empirical research. In contrast, “constitutionalism” is a theoretical approach; it is a framework rather than a phenomenon. As a framework, it allows for studying and understanding the phenomenon being observed—the shift from globalized toward constitutionalized international relations. However, it is important to keep in mind that because theories, such as constitutionalism, always reflect their context of emergence (time, place, agency), it is possible—and important—to distinguish between different types of constitutionalism, for example, ancient, modern, European, Confucian, late modern.
Research Interests:
By raising the question of what made constructivism possible the paper discusses the puzzle and promises of constructivist scholarschip in IR. It is argued that the communicative style which coined constructivism as a movement provides... more
By raising the question of what made constructivism possible the paper discusses the puzzle and promises of constructivist scholarschip in IR. It is argued that the communicative style which coined constructivism as a movement provides the key. Two puzzles are the focus, first, a lack of epistemological overlap, secondly, a disciplinary culture of consecutive debates which reached their high point of non-communication with the so-called Third Debate. However, while the constructivist movement gathered influence as a reference frame in the late 1990s, it is neither genuine to international relations theory nor does it originate in the 1990s. Why and how did constructivism manage to bring such a diverse group of scholars to one table? Section 2 of the paper develops the argument and introduces the concept of framing to understand the puzzle of conversation in IR. Section 3 recalls the emergence of constructivism, identifies the theoretical discussions and the significant conceptual moves. Section 4 summarizes the value- added and flags ‘norms’ research as the core of constructivist political science.
Research Interests:
Papers included in this collection should be cited according to the following format. Antje Wiener, Evolving Norms of Constitutionalism in Europe: From ‘Treaty Language’ to ‘Constitution’, in Weiler and Eisgruber, eds., Altneuland: The EU... more
Papers included in this collection should be cited according to the following format.
Antje Wiener, Evolving Norms of Constitutionalism in Europe: From ‘Treaty Language’ to ‘Constitution’, in Weiler and Eisgruber, eds., Altneuland: The EU Constitution in a Contextual Perspective, Jean Monnet Working Paper 5/04, [http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org/papers/04/040501-06.html]
Antje Wiener, Evolving Norms of Constitutionalism in Europe: From ‘Treaty Language’ to ‘Constitution’, in Weiler and Eisgruber, eds., Altneuland: The EU Constitution in a Contextual Perspective, Jean Monnet Working Paper 5/04, [http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org/papers/04/040501-06.html]
Research Interests:
Constitutional law – nomos - entails two sets of social practices, including on the one hand, the agreement about principles, norms and procedures which guide and regulate politics, and, day-to-day interaction in the social, cultural,... more
Constitutional law – nomos - entails two sets of social practices, including on the one hand, the agreement about principles, norms and procedures which guide and regulate politics, and, day-to-day interaction in the social, cultural, political, economic contexts of a community, on the other. Both constitute an expression of the universally derived yet particularly established set of institutions of a constitution. This paper argues that once constitutional norms are dealt with outside their sociocultural context of origin, a potentially conflictive situation emerges. The potential for conflict caused by this process lies in the decoupling of the two sets of social practices, i.e. the customary and the organizational. Through the transfer between contexts the meaning of norms becomes contested as differently socialized actors apply them and scholars of different legal tradition analyze them. The analytical challenge is to provide a methodological link between these practices. To that end, the chapter focuses on approaches to institutions. It proceeds in three steps. First three general political science approaches to institutions are distinguished. In a second step institutional analysis in the process of European integration is summarized based on three phases; first, integration through supranational institution-building, second, Europeanization through domestic institutional adaptation and third, late politicization as the complex process of sociocultural and legal institutional adaptation in vertical and horizontal dimension. The third step critically discusses the impact of institutions on political behavior. Two cases, citizenship and the finality debate, briefly illustrate the role of soft institutions in the process of constitutionalization.
Research Interests:
European Union (EU) foreign and security policy-making is undoubtedly one of the most dynamic areas of European integration. The level of coordination activity has dramatically increased over the last 15 years or so. With the recent... more
European Union (EU) foreign and security policy-making is undoubtedly one of the most dynamic areas of European integration. The level of coordination activity has dramatically increased over the last 15 years or so. With the recent changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty this trend is going to continue. New institutional capacities will evolve; existing structures will undergo adjustment. However, the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) will be confined within an essentially intergovernmental setting for the foreseeable future. In addition, major foreign policy crisis situations regularly put CFSP governance under strain. This somewhat paradoxical picture poses a challenge to researchers. How can we consider the CFSP process as a dynamic and evolutionary one? How can we make sense of the constant alternation between consensus and conflict against the background of an ever more complex institutional architecture which implies a web of constant exchanges over policy options at the intergovernmental level? Finally, can we determine alternative institutional options within such intergovernmental setting which can be considered to improve the effectiveness of CFSP governance in terms of coherent and collective policy actions by the EU member states and the Union’s institutions?
This article seeks to respond to these questions by applying two distinct, yet interrelated, analytical perspectives to the analysis of contemporary intergovernmental policy coordination within CFSP: the contested norms approach (Wiener 2008) and the concept of deliberative intergovernmentalism (Puetter 2012).
This article seeks to respond to these questions by applying two distinct, yet interrelated, analytical perspectives to the analysis of contemporary intergovernmental policy coordination within CFSP: the contested norms approach (Wiener 2008) and the concept of deliberative intergovernmentalism (Puetter 2012).
Research Interests:
The paper argues that the parallel development of the debate over political finality, on the one hand, and compliance with the accession acquis, on the other, brings two opposing action rationales to the fore. Depending upon how... more
The paper argues that the parallel development of the debate over political finality, on the one hand, and compliance with the accession acquis, on the other, brings two opposing action rationales to the fore. Depending upon how deliberation about finality and compliance proceeds, compliance can either mean conflict or smooth adaptation and successful revision of political procedures. The benchmark for success might not be constituted by an ever growing reservoir of detailed elaborations on governance principles or yet another plan to bring Europe ‘closer to the citizen’ but might lie in a concept that enables the establishment of equal access to deliberation for all participating parties. The paper focuses on the necessity of interdisciplinary work that straddles the boundaries of law and the social sciences in order to bring the constitutive impact of the interrelated finality and compliance rationales to the fore. It argues that resonance with evolving constitutional substance will be enhanced by a constitutionalized space for deliberation that allows for dialogic politics. Theoretically, the paper advances a societal approach to compliance.
Over the past twenty-five years, the study of international norms has become a core component of the wider Constructivist project within International Relations (IR). While our understanding of norms has been significantly advanced, a... more
Over the past twenty-five years, the study of international norms has become a core component of the wider Constructivist project within International Relations (IR). While our understanding of norms has been significantly advanced, a range of enduring questions have also emerged, which can be grouped around three themes: 1) the processes by which norms emerge, transform, and end or are replaced; 2) the agency of actors at the international, regional, and local levels who engage with these processes; 3) the embeddedness or interaction of norms with other pre-existing norms and other structures. Academic views on many of these questions are today are also divided between those who approach these questions from a conventional perspective and those who approach from a critical one. The goal of this workshop, consequently, is to both reassess how norm studies around these three themes has advanced over this period but also to identify and seek to theorize some of the most critical outstanding questions and divides that exist within the contemporary study of norms. To undertake this, we will be bringing together scholars who have been at the forefront of the rise and expansion of norm studies, as well as the next generation of norm scholars who will be at the vanguard of these debates
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This lecture, entitled ‘How to live with norm contestation?‘, was delivered at the second meeting of the European Cyber Diplomacy Dialogue by Professor Antje Wiener, Chair of Political Science especially Global Governance at the Faculty... more
This lecture, entitled ‘How to live with norm contestation?‘, was delivered at the second meeting of the European Cyber Diplomacy Dialogue by Professor Antje Wiener, Chair of Political Science especially Global Governance at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Hamburg, Germany.
The second European Cyber Diplomacy Dialogue (ECDD) was organised by the EU Cyber Direct Project and the European University Institute School of Transnational Governance, and took place on 20-21 January 2020 in Florence, Italy.
The second European Cyber Diplomacy Dialogue (ECDD) was organised by the EU Cyber Direct Project and the European University Institute School of Transnational Governance, and took place on 20-21 January 2020 in Florence, Italy.
Research Interests:
Details: https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/european-integration-theory-9780198737315?cc=de&lang=en With coverage of both traditional and critical theories and approaches to European integration and their application, this is the most... more
Details: https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/european-integration-theory-9780198737315?cc=de&lang=en
With coverage of both traditional and critical theories and approaches to European integration and their application, this is the most comprehensive textbook on European integration theory and an essential guide for all students and scholars interested in the subject.
The only up-to-date overview of the major approaches to European integration, giving students insights on the most current debates and topical developments.
With contributions from world-leading experts, the text is an authoritative guide to each theory.
Considers the development, achievements, and problems of each theory alongside historical and current issues in European integration.
Uses the multiple crises in the EU over the past decade as case studies to demonstrate the relevance of theory to practice.
New to this edition
Each chapter includes a referent case on recent crises in the EU: the financial crisis and the migration crisis.
Each chapter now includes both study questions to help students test their understanding and discussion questions to promote critical thinking and class debate.
Professor Tanja A. Börzel and Professor Thomas Risse join the editorial team, bringing fresh expertise and insights to the volume.
With coverage of both traditional and critical theories and approaches to European integration and their application, this is the most comprehensive textbook on European integration theory and an essential guide for all students and scholars interested in the subject.
The only up-to-date overview of the major approaches to European integration, giving students insights on the most current debates and topical developments.
With contributions from world-leading experts, the text is an authoritative guide to each theory.
Considers the development, achievements, and problems of each theory alongside historical and current issues in European integration.
Uses the multiple crises in the EU over the past decade as case studies to demonstrate the relevance of theory to practice.
New to this edition
Each chapter includes a referent case on recent crises in the EU: the financial crisis and the migration crisis.
Each chapter now includes both study questions to help students test their understanding and discussion questions to promote critical thinking and class debate.
Professor Tanja A. Börzel and Professor Thomas Risse join the editorial team, bringing fresh expertise and insights to the volume.
Research Interests:
Handbooks are original reference works designed to provide a broad overview of research in a given field, while at the same time creating a forum for more challenging, critical examination of complex and often under-explored issues within... more
Handbooks are original reference works designed to provide a broad overview of research in a given field, while at the same time creating a forum for more challenging, critical examination of complex and often under-explored issues within that field. Chapters by international contributors are specially commissioned by the editors, who carefully balance breadth and depth. Often widely cited, they present expert scholarly analysis and offer a vital reference point for advanced research. Taken as a whole they achieve a wide-ranging picture of the state-of-the-art. The volumes in this series examine the legal dimensions of issues arising out of an increasingly globalized world. Edited by leading scholars in their respective fields, they explore notions of global justice and global development along with the complexities of international institutions and private actors operating on a global stage. Taking as their common thread the impact of globalisation on the world in which we live, they are unrivaled in their blend of critical, substantive analysis and synthesis of contemporary research. Each Handbook stands alone as an invaluable source of reference for all scholars of globalisation. Whether used as an information resource on key topics or as a platform for advanced study, volumes in this series will become definitive scholarly reference works in the field. Titles in this series include:
Research Interests:
Antje Wiener examines the involvement of local actors in conflicts over global norms such as fundamental rights and the prohibition of torture and sexual violence. Providing accounts of local interventions made on behalf of those affected... more
Antje Wiener examines the involvement of local actors in conflicts over global norms such as fundamental rights and the prohibition of torture and sexual violence. Providing accounts of local interventions made on behalf of those affected by breaches of norms, she identifies the constraints and opportunities for stakeholder participation in a fragmented global society. The book also considers cultural and institutional diversity with regard to the co-constitution of norm change. Proposing a clear framework to operationalize research on contested norms, and illustrating it through three recent cases, this book contributes to the project of global international relations by offering an agency-centred approach. It will interest scholars and advanced students of international relations, international political theory, and international law seeking a principled approach to practice that overcomes the practice-norm gap.
Research Interests:
This is an important book on a vital subject. Antje Winer has treated the reader to significant ideas, germane information and insightful analysis. And, although the book is difficult to read (and to review), it is worth the effort. The... more
This is an important book on a vital subject. Antje Winer has treated the reader to significant ideas, germane information and insightful analysis. And, although the book is difficult to read (and to review), it is worth the effort. The main thrust of the work is to show how the ...
Research Interests:
As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. Our ability to understand and interpret others and to tolerate... more
As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. Our ability to understand and interpret others and to tolerate difference, rather than overcome diversity, is therefore at risk. This book focuses on the contested meanings of norms in a world of increasing international encounters. The author argues that cultural practices are less visible than organisational practices, but are constitutive for politics and need to be understood and empirically 'accounted' for. Comparing four elite groups in Europe, Antje Wiener shows how this invisible constitution of politics matters. By comparing individual interpretations of norms such as democracy and human rights, she shows how they can mean different things, even to frequently travelling elite groups.
Research Interests:
... Both developments contribute to the process of polity formation, both deepening and widening ... but also to provide a framework for elaborating on theoretical perspectives on ... The per-spectives presented in this book include... more
... Both developments contribute to the process of polity formation, both deepening and widening ... but also to provide a framework for elaborating on theoretical perspectives on ... The per-spectives presented in this book include policy studies, interdisciplinary approaches which see ...
While “safety umbrella” (German: “Rettungsschirm”) is perhaps not the word of the month, the Solange Reversed proposal suggested by the Bogdandy team makes a strong case for linking fundamental rights and citizenship. Both are type 1... more
While “safety umbrella” (German: “Rettungsschirm”) is perhaps not the word of the month, the Solange Reversed proposal suggested by the Bogdandy team makes a strong case for linking fundamental rights and citizenship. Both are type 1 norms of constitutionalism, i.e. norms which express fundamental ethical values of a community and which are therefore generally agreed among democratic actors. As such, both fundamental norms are uncontested in the way they are defined by Article 2 (fundamental rights) and Article 20 (citizenship rights) of the Lisbon Treaty (TEU), respectively.
What is novel – and may therefore become subject to contestation – is the change of ‘European’ citizenship practice which follows putting the Solange Reversed proposal into place, as suggested by the Bogdandy team. This change of legal practice has political implications. In practice, the proposal involves a branching out of current ‘European’ citizenship practice which is likely to consolidate the European Union’s genuine normative order. The litmus test of this effect remains the performance of the European Union (EU) and it’s institutions towards other such orders, to be sure. (...)
What is novel – and may therefore become subject to contestation – is the change of ‘European’ citizenship practice which follows putting the Solange Reversed proposal into place, as suggested by the Bogdandy team. This change of legal practice has political implications. In practice, the proposal involves a branching out of current ‘European’ citizenship practice which is likely to consolidate the European Union’s genuine normative order. The litmus test of this effect remains the performance of the European Union (EU) and it’s institutions towards other such orders, to be sure. (...)
Following this workshop's discussion of Rosenberg's emphasis on societal multiplicity, this contribution discusses how and why this might generate an added value for IR as a discipline. To that end, it explores the promises of the concept... more
Following this workshop's discussion of Rosenberg's emphasis on societal multiplicity, this contribution discusses how and why this might generate an added value for IR as a discipline. To that end, it explores the promises of the concept of societal multiplicity as a deep ontology. It is argued that a key promise consists in the proposed ontology's qualitative ('more than one kind') and quantitative ('more than one') dimensions as drivers of international relations practice and theory. Both drivers work across societal boundaries and within societies alike, thereby developing interrelated and mutually reinforcing dynamics. Programmatically, the promises of societal multiplicity remain to be explored with reference to Rosenberg's five potential consequences (i.e. coexistence , difference, interaction, combination, and dialectical change. Specifically, a central promise lies in its potential to fill the research gap which consists of the absence of social contract theory (i.e. as offering the conceptual angle on the 'unbound' quality of fundamental norms, based on the 'politics of recognition') for legitimate global governance. Here, societal multiplicity sheds light on societal negotiations of values, thereby adding to extant practice and agency-based theories of international ordering. This article illustrates the point with reference to the subfield of norms research. It shows how extant concepts of political practices vis-à-vis norms stand to benefit from applying societal multiplicity insofar as it targets the contingency of international ordering through societal interaction. This matters because societal and political ordering in a globalised space does not begin from a given 'liberal community' (top-down) but from a socially constructed emerging set of orders (bottom-up). The argument is presented in four sections. Section 1 presents the turn towards societal multiplicity as a deep ontology in order to address the absence of social contract theory in IR. It identifies a gap between the 'use' of fundamental norms for global governance purposes, on the one hand, and the 'contestations' of their implementation by affected stakeholders, on the other. Section 2 addresses the point of re-establishing IR as a lone standing discipline in the social sciences. Against the current state of a fragmented discipline, it asks how a shift towards societal multiplicity might work towards countering that fragmentation. Section 3 turns to the norms research literature. To illustrate the argument it explores potential pathways towards filling the gap between state-mediated and locally contested norms of global governance. Section 4 concludes with an outlook towards framing the crisis of international law as a value based.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Discourse Analysis, European integration, Human Rights, Government, Constructivism, and 15 moreGovernance, Foreign Policy, Action Theory, Convergence, Constitutionalism, Integration Theory, Cultural, Consensus, Democratic, Divergence, Empirical Research, Institutionalisation, Coercion, Enlargement, and Deutsch
NB:
Esteartículo ya fue publicado en la Revista Feminista Internacional Lolapress - Montevideo, núm.6, noviembre de 1996-abril de 1997. Agradecemos a los editores la autorización para publicarlo en Lav entana.
Esteartículo ya fue publicado en la Revista Feminista Internacional Lolapress - Montevideo, núm.6, noviembre de 1996-abril de 1997. Agradecemos a los editores la autorización para publicarlo en Lav entana.
Research Interests:
The Status of Law begins with the suspicion ‘that “law” might have become the problem rather than the solution, and this problem requires further analysis.’ Given that law is a social construct, Kratochwil invites us to turn to the sites... more
The Status of Law begins with the suspicion ‘that “law” might have become the problem rather than the solution, and this problem requires further analysis.’ Given that law is a social construct, Kratochwil invites us to turn to the sites where this construction takes place. To bring the many constitutions and contestations of law to the fore, he conjures theoretical sparring partners to engage in nine meditations. The genius of this Symposium consists in inviting nine colleagues, each engaging with a different meditation, and inviting a tenth colleague to add this introduction as a way to engage the engagement. By doing practice on practice the Symposium does full justice Kratochwil’s move towards looking at the practice ‘in the middle of things.’ The resulting field day with Fritz is a piece of intellectual mastery compiled by ‘spirited members of the republic of letters’ that carries the reader along on a journey that reveals and addresses Kratochwil’s suspicions about the problem with law. In the end, we know more through sharing the problem and partaking in the joy of addressing it. In a nutshell, the Status of Law engages in a series of mediations that invite us to engage with that predicament by using our academic tools as best as we can (no need to get anxious). The Symposium’s engagements show precisely that: the ability and readiness to actually hear what Kratochwil is saying. By engaging with the engagements, the readership of this Symposium will draw their own conclusions about the promises of international law (and the discipline of International Law) despite the predicaments that Kratochwil addressed so wisely and carefully. Yet, they must engage themselves to get to the bottom of it all. Indeed, ‘Kratochwil is too smart to show us “the way” but he gives us tools to assess our journey and options — perhaps also by comparing our itineraries.’ And for that, the invitation is to start in the middle. That plunge must be taken individually. By offering their respective academic practice of embracing or eschewing the ‘midst’ which lies at the centre of Kratochwil’s grounding engagement with (legal) norms through critical pragmatism, this Symposium nicely sketches the ‘site’ where to do precisely that: generate knowledge through engagement with others.
Research Interests:
The Status of Law begins with the suspicion 'that "law" might have become the problem rather than the solution, and this problem requires further analysis'. Given that law is a social construct, Kratochwil invites us to turn to the sites... more
The Status of Law begins with the suspicion 'that "law" might have become the problem rather than the solution, and this problem requires further analysis'. Given that law is a social construct, Kratochwil invites us to turn to the sites where this construction takes place. To bring the many constitutions and contestations of law to the fore, he conjures theoretical sparring partners to engage in nine meditations. The genius of this Symposium consists of inviting nine colleagues, each engaging with a different meditation, and inviting a tenth colleague to add this introduction as a way to engage the engagement. By doing practice on practice the Symposium does full justice Kratochwil's move towards looking at the practice 'in the middle of things'. The resulting field day with Fritz is a piece of intellectual mastery compiled by 'spirited members of the republic of letters' that carries the reader along on a journey that reveals and addresses Kratochwil's suspicions about the problem with law. In the end, we know more through sharing the problem and partaking in the joy of addressing it.
Research Interests:
Many normative political theorists have engaged in the systematic collection and/or analysis of empirical data to inform the development of their arguments over the past several decades. Yet, the approach they employ has typically not... more
Many normative political theorists have engaged in the systematic collection and/or analysis of empirical data to inform the development of their arguments over the past several decades. Yet, the approach they employ has typically not been treated as a distinctive mode of theorizing. It has been mostly overlooked in surveys of normative political theory methods and methodologies, as well as by those critics who assert that political theory is too abstracted from actual political contestation. Our aim is to unearth this grounded normative theory (GNT) approach – to identify its definitive practices and highlight its potential significance. We detail four overlapping commitments characteristic of GNT. These include commitments to expanding the comprehensiveness of input for normative arguments through original empirical research and/or analysis, recur- sivity in the development of normative claims, attentiveness to the systematic inclusion of a range of voices and ways of knowing, and accountability to those engaged by the theorist in empirical contexts. We discuss methodological distinctions within GNT, including between more- and less-solidaristic approaches. We discuss how GNT answers calls for theorists to engage more closely with empirical political dynamics and we consider responses to possible critiques.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
No Abstract
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Law and European Law
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Law and European Law
... Abstract The article identifies the democracy gap as the tension in the European Union (EU) between demands for participatory constitutionalism and the limited capacity of constitutional engineering to meet them. It works with ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... To that end, the Special Issue assembles quite a variety of different theoretical orientations ranging from Jeffrey Checkel's (Checkel 1999) rather modest con-structivism to Thomas Diez's more... more
... To that end, the Special Issue assembles quite a variety of different theoretical orientations ranging from Jeffrey Checkel's (Checkel 1999) rather modest con-structivism to Thomas Diez's more radical reflectivism (Diez 1999). ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT This article seeks to develop a way of assessing the constructive potential of citizenship based on its newly institutionalised terms such as the shared values, objectives and regulations that have been established by citizenship... more
ABSTRACT This article seeks to develop a way of assessing the constructive potential of citizenship based on its newly institutionalised terms such as the shared values, objectives and regulations that have been established by citizenship policy over time. It builds on a study of European citizenship policy making over two decades. Beyond describing the emergence of citizenship, it promotes a systematic approach to reconstructing the policy in this supranational context. It is assumed that citizenship did not emerge out of the blue on the agenda of the Maastricht Intergovernmental Conference which negotiated the Treaty of European Union in 1990-91, but that it is possible to identify agenda-setting steps in earlier stages of the policy process.
Research Interests:
This article proposes a framework for empirical research on contested meaning of norms in international politics. The goal is to identify a design for empirical research to examine associative connotations of norms that come to the fore... more
This article proposes a framework for empirical research on contested meaning of norms in international politics. The goal is to identify a design for empirical research to examine associative connotations of norms that come to the fore when norms are contested in situations of governance beyond-the-state and especially in crises. If cultural practices shape experience and expectations, they need to be identified and made ‘account-able’ based on empirical research. To that end, the proposed qualitative approach centres on individually enacted meaning-in-use. The framework comprises norm-types, conditions of contestation, types of divergence and opposition-deriving as a specific interview evaluation technique. Section one situates the problem of contestation in the field of constructivist research on norms. Section two introduces distinctive conditions of contestation and types of norms. Section three details the methodology of conducting and evaluating interviews and presents the te...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Starting from the assumption that the European Union’s (EU) common foreign and security policy (CFSP) will rely on a pre-dominantly intergovernmental governance setting for the foreseeable future, this paper focuses on... more
ABSTRACT Starting from the assumption that the European Union’s (EU) common foreign and security policy (CFSP) will rely on a pre-dominantly intergovernmental governance setting for the foreseeable future, this paper focuses on alternative institutional options for conducting policy dialogue in such a context. It reviews the current coordination practice in the key forums for policy dialogue between the member states, such as the General Affairs and External Relations Council, the Political and Security Committee, as well as the Policy Unit and the role of the High Representative for the CFSP within these forums. To this end the paper proposes a two-fold theoretical framework combining insights from the analysis of other intergovernmental policy coordination contexts within the EU, on the one hand, and research on norm contestation on the other hand. Rather than assuming that key norms, principles and rules in the field of the CFSP can be agreed upon in a one-off fashion, we hold that even once these norms have acquired quasi-constitutional status, say, in the form of Treaty provisions or through repeated European Council resolutions, they remain inherently contested and therefore leave room for policy-makers to derive different policy approaches when enacting their meaning-in-use. The question is therefore whether the CFSP coordination context allows for the identification of diverging interpretations of fundamental norms and organising principles in foreign and security policy debates and thus can establish common understandings through practice rather than through initial acclamation. This can best be achieved through forward looking policy debates including the increased use of scenario-based policy review procedures. The overall reliance of the CFSP process on intergovernmental policy dialogue implies a central role for foreign policy elites both at the national and EU level. This poses key questions about the notion of legitimate decision-making within such a context
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT This article seeks to develop a way of assessing the constructive potential of citizenship based on its newly institutionalised terms such as the shared values, objectives and regulations that have been established by citizenship... more
ABSTRACT This article seeks to develop a way of assessing the constructive potential of citizenship based on its newly institutionalised terms such as the shared values, objectives and regulations that have been established by citizenship policy over time. It builds on a study of European citizenship policy making over two decades. Beyond describing the emergence of citizenship, it promotes a systematic approach to reconstructing the policy in this supranational context. It is assumed that citizenship did not emerge out of the blue on the agenda of the Maastricht Intergovernmental Conference which negotiated the Treaty of European Union in 1990-91, but that it is possible to identify agenda-setting steps in earlier stages of the policy process.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... potential leads beyond a mere assessment of procedures and norms as causes for behavior ... By contrast, for the candidate countries it creates the new challenge of adopting and ... in order to accept the EU's norms, principles... more
... potential leads beyond a mere assessment of procedures and norms as causes for behavior ... By contrast, for the candidate countries it creates the new challenge of adopting and ... in order to accept the EU's norms, principles and routinized practices of governance as legitimate. ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This introductory chapter to the Handbook on Global Constitutionalism argues that constitutionalism as an ideal can be applied at the global level. It provides an overview of the historical antecedents and theoretical principles that... more
This introductory chapter to the Handbook on Global Constitutionalism argues that constitutionalism as an ideal can be applied at the global level. It provides an overview of the historical antecedents and theoretical principles that inform the idea of global constitutionalism.
Research Interests:
Current contestations of the liberal international order stand in notable contrast with the earlier rise of international law during the post-cold war period. As Krieger and Liese argue, this situation calls for assessment of the type of... more
Current contestations of the liberal international order stand in notable contrast with the earlier rise of international law during the post-cold war period. As Krieger and Liese argue, this situation calls for assessment of the type of change that is currently observed, i.e. norm change (Wandel) or a more fundamental transformation of international law – a metamorphosis (Verwandlung)? To address this question, this paper details the bi-focal approach to norms in order to reflect and take account of the complex interrelation between fact-based and value-based conceptions of norms. The paper is organised in three sections. The first section presents three axioms underlying the conceptual framework to study norm(ative) change which are visualised by a triangular operation to analyse this change in relation with practices and norms. The second section recalls three key interests that have guided IR norms research after the return to norms in the late 1980s. They include, first, allocating change in and through practice, second, identifying behavioural change with reference to norm- following, and third, identifying norm(ative) change with reference to discursive practice. The third section presents the two analytical tools of the conceptual frame, namely, the norm-typology and the cycle-grid model. It also indicates how to apply these tools with reference to illustrative case scenarios. The conclusion recalls the key elements of the conceptual framework for research on norm(ative) change in international relations in light of the challenge of establishing sustainable normativity in the global order.
Research Interests:
Following this workshop's discussion of Rosenberg's emphasis on societal multiplicity, this contribution discusses how and why this might generate an added value for IR as a discipline. To that end, it explores the promises of the concept... more
Following this workshop's discussion of Rosenberg's emphasis on societal multiplicity, this contribution discusses how and why this might generate an added value for IR as a discipline. To that end, it explores the promises of the concept of societal multiplicity as a deep ontology. It is argued that a key promise consists in the proposed ontology's qualitative ('more than one kind') and quantitative ('more than one') dimensions as drivers of international relations practice and theory. Both drivers work across societal boundaries and within societies alike, thereby developing interrelated and mutually reinforcing dynamics. Programmatically, the promises of societal multiplicity remain to be explored with reference to Rosenberg's five potential consequences (i.e. coexistence , difference, interaction, combination, and dialectical change. Specifically, a central promise lies in its potential to fill the research gap which consists of the absence of social contract theory (i.e. as offering the conceptual angle on the 'unbound' quality of fundamental norms, based on the 'politics of recognition') for legitimate global governance. Here, societal multiplicity sheds light on societal negotiations of values, thereby adding to extant practice and agency-based theories of international ordering. This article illustrates the point with reference to the subfield of norms research. It shows how extant concepts of political practices vis-à-vis norms stand to benefit from applying societal multiplicity insofar as it targets the contingency of international ordering through societal interaction. This matters because societal and political ordering in a globalised space does not begin from a given 'liberal community' (top-down) but from a socially constructed emerging set of orders (bottom-up). The argument is presented in four sections. Section 1 presents the turn towards societal multiplicity as a deep ontology in order to address the absence of social contract theory in IR. It identifies a gap between the 'use' of fundamental norms for global governance purposes, on the one hand, and the 'contestations' of their implementation by affected stakeholders, on the other. Section 2 addresses the point of re-establishing IR as a lone standing discipline in the social sciences. Against the current state of a fragmented discipline, it asks how a shift towards societal multiplicity might work towards countering that fragmentation. Section 3 turns to the norms research literature. To illustrate the argument it explores potential pathways towards filling the gap between state-mediated and locally contested norms of global governance. Section 4 concludes with an outlook towards framing the crisis of international law as a value based.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. Our ability to understand and interpret others and to... more
ABSTRACT As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. Our ability to understand and interpret others and to tolerate difference, rather than overcome diversity, is therefore at risk. This book focuses on the contested meanings of norms in a world of increasing international encounters. The author argues that cultural practices are less visible than organizational practices, but are constitutive for politics and need to be understood and empirically ‘accounted’ for. Comparing four elite groups in Europe, Antje Wiener shows how this invisible constitution of politics matters. By comparing individual interpretations of norms such as democracy and human rights, she shows how they can mean different things, even to frequently traveling elite groups.
Research Interests: Discourse Analysis, International Relations, International Law, Government, Governance, and 15 moreCulture, International Politics, Convergence, Constitutionalism, Integration Theory, Cultural, Internationalisation, Consensus, Democratic, CORE, Empirical Research, Coercion, Enlargement, IGE, and Globalisation
Through theoretical discussions and case studies, this volume explores how processes of contestation about knowledge, norms, and governance processes shape efforts to promote sustainability through international environmental governance.... more
Through theoretical discussions and case studies, this volume explores how processes of contestation about knowledge, norms, and governance processes shape efforts to promote sustainability through international environmental governance.
The epistemic communities literature of the 1990s highlighted the importance of expert consensus on scientific knowledge for problem definition and solution specification in international environmental agreements. This book addresses a gap in this literature – insufficient attention to the multiple forms of contestation that also inform international environmental governance. These forms include within-discipline contestation that helps forge expert consensus, inter-disciplinary contestation regarding the types of expert knowledge needed for effective response to environmental problems, normative and practical arguments about the proper roles of experts and laypersons, and contestation over how to combine globally developed norms and scientific knowledge with locally prevalent norms and traditional knowledge in ways ensuring effective implementation of environmental policies. This collection advances understanding of the conditions under which contestation facilitates or hinders the development of effective global environmental governance. The contributors examine how attempts to incorporate more than one stream of expert knowledge and to include lay knowledge alongside it have played out in efforts to create and maintain multilateral agreements relating to environmental concerns.
It will interest scholars and graduate students of political science, global governance, international environmental politics, and global policy making. Policy analysts should also find it useful.
DOWNLOAD
Size: 0.39 MB
The epistemic communities literature of the 1990s highlighted the importance of expert consensus on scientific knowledge for problem definition and solution specification in international environmental agreements. This book addresses a gap in this literature – insufficient attention to the multiple forms of contestation that also inform international environmental governance. These forms include within-discipline contestation that helps forge expert consensus, inter-disciplinary contestation regarding the types of expert knowledge needed for effective response to environmental problems, normative and practical arguments about the proper roles of experts and laypersons, and contestation over how to combine globally developed norms and scientific knowledge with locally prevalent norms and traditional knowledge in ways ensuring effective implementation of environmental policies. This collection advances understanding of the conditions under which contestation facilitates or hinders the development of effective global environmental governance. The contributors examine how attempts to incorporate more than one stream of expert knowledge and to include lay knowledge alongside it have played out in efforts to create and maintain multilateral agreements relating to environmental concerns.
It will interest scholars and graduate students of political science, global governance, international environmental politics, and global policy making. Policy analysts should also find it useful.
DOWNLOAD
Size: 0.39 MB
Research Interests:
This concluding chapter of the third edition of European Integration Theory (OUP 2018) takes stock of the updated mosaic of integration theory. The chapter is organised in three sections. The first section offers a comparative perspective... more
This concluding chapter of the third edition of European Integration Theory (OUP 2018) takes stock of the updated mosaic of integration theory. The chapter is organised in three sections. The first section offers a comparative perspective on the book’s chapters. To that end, it presents the preferences of each approach from a comparative perspective, against the backdrop of three leading metaphorical perceptions of the EU. The second section addresses the absence of security crises in the book’s contributions. To explore, how security crises may be brought into focus in integration theory, it distinguishes the impact of integration along two dimensions. These include first, the horizontal regional comparative perspective and the ‘litmus test’ of the applicability of integration theory to other regions; and second, the vertical dimension which connects normative crises in EU sub-units with global conflicts. And the concluding third section asks how integration theory fares sixty years on from the Treaty of Rome, and points out potential issues and themes for the future of European integration theory.
This introductory chapter of the third edition of European Integration Theory (OUP 2018) addresses the rationale for a book on European integration theory and introduces the contributions to the book. It begins by addressing the question... more
This introductory chapter of the third edition of European Integration Theory (OUP 2018) addresses the rationale for a book on European integration theory and introduces the contributions to the book. It begins by addressing the question of Why Study Integration Theory; it then defines the terms ‘integration’ and ‘theory’ and introduces the ‘mosaic of European integration theory’ as the book’s central concept. The chapter also offers an overview of European integration as a process which has been studied for several decades now. To that end, the chapter recalls distinct phases of integration and the respective parts of the mosaic which have been developed to understand and explain them based on descriptive, analytical and constructive theorising. Each phase is distinguished by historical context, leading questions and relevant theoretical reference points. The book’s extensive section on Studying European Integration by taking account of ‘contexts of theoretical development’ and addressing the question of ‘competing or complementary theoretical approaches’ which also identifies the functions and areas of theory. In concluding, the chapter details the concept of the ‘Mosaic of Integration Theory’ and introduces the chapter structure of the book’s contributions.
Diez, Thomas/Wiener, Antje 2018: Introducing the Mosaic of Integration Theory, KFG Working Paper Series, No. 88, May 2018, Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG) “The Transformative Power of Europe“, Freie Universität Berlin.
ISSN 1868-6834 (Print) ISSN 1868-7601 (Internet)
This publication has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Diez, Thomas/Wiener, Antje 2018: Introducing the Mosaic of Integration Theory, KFG Working Paper Series, No. 88, May 2018, Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG) “The Transformative Power of Europe“, Freie Universität Berlin.
ISSN 1868-6834 (Print) ISSN 1868-7601 (Internet)
This publication has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
The concept contestation of norms entails two components, norms and contestation. Norms are soft institutions ranging from fundamental principles at the macro scale, and organising principles at the meso scale, to specific standards at... more
The concept contestation of norms entails two components, norms and contestation. Norms are soft institutions ranging from fundamental principles at the macro scale, and organising principles at the meso scale, to specific standards at the micro scale of a given order. Norms have a dual quality insofar as they are socially constructed as well as structuring. In turn, contestation is defined as a practice that can either indicate objection to something, for example the implementation of a norm as ‘contested compliance’ or breaches of a norm as ‘contested norm violation’. In these cases, we speak of reactive contestation. In turn and less frequently, contestation may also include critical engagement with a norm (a rule, a principle, or an order) in order to clarify distinct meanings or agree on the means (instruments, mechanism, policies) that are required to implement the norm. In this case, we speak of proactive contestation.
The paper is organised according to an interview format. It discusses the core concepts and research assumptions of norm contestation against the backdrop of the Theory of Contestation.
The paper is organised according to an interview format. It discusses the core concepts and research assumptions of norm contestation against the backdrop of the Theory of Contestation.
Working paper for the Seminar and Workshop on Advanced Issues in Law and Policy of the European Union, NAFTA and the WTO, J H H Weiler, Harvard University, with Jo Shaw
Research Interests:
Antje Wiener, in “A Hidden Asset in Times of Crisis: The EU’s Unbound Constitutional Quality,” suggests addressing the issue of the European crisis not only from an economic and political angle but rather from the robustness of European... more
Antje Wiener, in “A Hidden Asset in Times of Crisis: The EU’s Unbound Constitutional Quality,” suggests addressing the issue of the European crisis not only from an economic and political angle but rather from the robustness of European institutions. From this point of view, the Union is not in as much of a crisis as we might think: “I argue that not all is lost, for the EU is able to resort to a sustainable constitutional quality.” Proof of this is the fact that its constitutional order, “a non-state politics on a world scale,” serves as a reference for numerous organisations and communities, “prior to, during and despite the EU’s situation of ‘crisis.’” Wiener first focuses on the extent to which the EU might be a blueprint. Far from being an external phenomenon, this creative appropriation of EUropean institutions is a central element of the construction of Europe: the ways in which EUropean norms are incorporated into other contexts provide an important criterion for assessing their ultimate meaning. Secondly, Wiener underlines the major feature that enables the EU to become such a blueprint: it is the only political entity that has grown from “state-bound constitutionalism” to “non-state bound constitutionalism” (this expression not only implies a constitutional process involving different States but also the fact that “actors other than the state are involved”). Thirdly, the author attempts to differentiate the guiding principles underpinning her analysis of the European blueprint appropriation process from those of other theoretical approaches. Wiener’s approach highlights the interactions and discussions deriving from these norm transfers within the organisations and communities that refer to the European Union. The conclusion of the article illustrates this theoretical approach with reference to some case studies regarding creative appropriation of European constitutionalism (ASEAN, SADC).
Research Interests:
This paper analyses the adoption of EU conditions regarding non-discrimination and minority protection in three applicant countries: Romania, Hungary and Poland. While non-discrimination is a well established EU norm, minority rights are... more
This paper analyses the adoption of EU conditions regarding non-discrimination and minority protection in three applicant countries: Romania, Hungary and Poland. While non-discrimination is a well established EU norm, minority rights are a contested norm and not enshrined in the acquis communautaire. It is argued that contestation over norm meaning highlights the importance of norm resonance and domestic norm construction in processes of norm diffusion, and that the conceptual tension between the internal and external EU policy towards minorities implies the possibility of unintended long-term effects in the applicant countries, as well as potential backlash against the EU after accession.
Research Interests:
Fundamental norms such as democracy, sovereignty, citizenship, and the rule of law are both foundational and deeply contested concepts. Their foundational role has been extensively discussed with reference to modern nation-states and... more
Fundamental norms such as democracy, sovereignty, citizenship, and the rule of law are both foundational and deeply contested concepts. Their foundational role has been extensively discussed with reference to modern nation-states and global order in International Law and International Relations. While their contested quality is well known in theory, it has especially come to the fore through contestations of norms and orders in current conflicts and crises. The role of fundamental norms has thus changed from taking a rear-seat in political theory to making headlines in current issues of global governance. This chapter argues that this move into the political limelight is an opportunity for addressing the 'future of democracies'. It argues that first, due to norms' value-and practice-based roots, their contestedness is to be expected. Second, this contestedness has implications for both, norm use in everyday practice and norm conceptualization in theory. Leading questions are then: What are the effects for democracy in practice (i.e. politics and policymaking) and for democracy in theory (i.e. on conceptualizations of democracy as a foundational constitutional norm)? Following these questions, the chapter discusses the future of democracies in a globalized world. It conceives norms and their multiple contestations as the constitutive 'glue' of global ordering, rather than as a 'means' towards implementing governance rules. The argument is presented in four sections. Section one identifies a conceptual gap between state-negotiated norms of global governance and societal contestations of norms (i.e. a lacking focus on the ontology of societal multiplicity). Section two recalls Tully's claim about the 'Unfreedom of the Moderns' and the central role of agonism (contestation) for the purpose of including the multitude of affected stakeholders in establishing norms of governance. Section three presents the cycle-grid model to frame democracy from below. The details practices of contestation (i.e. reactive and proactive) and validation (formal, societal, cultural) to address the gap between societal interactions and global order-building. Section four concludes with an outlook on the future of democracies in a globalized world.
Research Interests:
Where do European citizens eventually turn to go home at the end of the day? Does it matter whether they feel that they belong, or whether they actually know what is ‘theirs’? This chapter argues that there is a considerable distance to... more
Where do European citizens eventually turn to go home at the end of the day? Does it matter whether they feel that they belong, or whether they actually know what is ‘theirs’? This chapter argues that there is a considerable distance to be covered between formally stipulating citizenship on the one hand, and practically ‘owning’ citizenship, on the other. As the literature on norms research has demonstrated, the formal validity of a norm offers little guidance as to its social recognition, let alone its cultural validation. Yet, it is the latter normative segments, which matter with regard to whether or not a norm is accepted, understood and hence complied with. The contestations in the proceedings of the European Court of Justice’s ruling in the Rottmann case4 demonstrate quite clearly that their quite detailed and extensive elaborations about the European normative order with its fundamental norms and standardised procedures, they remain largely confined to a legal environment. Meanwhile, the larger question about where European citizens are to turn at the end of the day, and under which conditions, is not as straightforward as the literature on citizenship in the context of modern state-building would suggest. ...
Research Interests:
Against the background of critical norms research, this chapter distinguishes two dimensions to operationalise responsibility research, the practical dimension and the conceptual dimension. The proposed frame represents a principled... more
Against the background of critical norms research, this chapter distinguishes two dimensions to operationalise responsibility research, the practical dimension and the conceptual dimension. The proposed frame represents a principled approach that is based on the ethics of knowledge production as well as the contestedness of norms in global society. Together, these two dimensions account for the dynamics of reflexive theorising as a process which involves value-based critical analysis of everyday practice in international relations and its reflection in IR theory-building. The chapter is organised in three sections. Section one presents the argument for framing value-based norms research and introduces the two central tools of the framework (norm-typology and the cycle-grid model). Section two details the use of the norm-typology with reference to the R2P norm. And section three addresses the empirical mapping and staging of contestations with reference to the responsibility of protect (R2P) norm drawing. The summary argument holds that using the framework offers an interface for reflexive research engagement that helps avoiding responsibility researchers to talk past each other despite taking distinct and often mutually exclusive epistemological standpoints on responsibility.
Research Interests:
This chapter offers a comment on Alec Stone Sweet’s study of the practice of human rights jurisprudence in Europe. It highlights the advantage of this approach for the emerging interdisciplinary research program of global... more
This chapter offers a comment on Alec Stone Sweet’s study of the practice of human rights jurisprudence in Europe. It highlights the advantage of this approach for the emerging interdisciplinary research program of global constitutionalism. It argues that Stone Sweet’s reference to Christine Landfried’s dual quality concept of difference demonstrates convincingly that this kind of empirical research on the practice of jurisprudence not only allows for addressing the general philosophical dilemma of human rights minimalism, it also tweaks out the specific quality of European constitutionalism. The comment proceeds in three steps. Step one summarizes Landfried’s political science difference approach as a systematic reply to socio-cultural perceptions of diversity. Step two places the diversity/difference discussion within the wider - interdisciplinary - research program of global constitutionalism. And step three then moves on to discuss Stone Sweet’s empirical research on difference ...
Research Interests:
The chapter defines citizenship as an organising principle that frames citizenship practice constitutionally. The move towards citizenship as a practice allows for an analytical distinction between the universal and the particular... more
The chapter defines citizenship as an organising principle that frames citizenship practice constitutionally. The move towards citizenship as a practice allows for an analytical distinction between the universal and the particular dimensions of citizenship without losing the constructive tension between them. Now research on citizenship practice can distinguish analytically between normatively conceived constitutive elements (i.e. the individual, the polity and the practice linking these two), on the one hand, and practically derived historical elements (i.e. rights, access and identity/belonging) on the other. Notably, it is the practice that ultimately establishes who enjoys which rights, on what cultural grounds, and through which political, economic and social means. The chapter notes changes of citizenship practice with regard to the diversity of actorship and the increasingly global context of citizenship practice. It demonstrates how citizenship practice which unfolds on diff...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This chapter focuses on the normativity premise as the first of three thinking tools. It begins by raising a question about the normativity of norms. It notes that while diverse interpretations of norms facilitate a novel and important... more
This chapter focuses on the normativity premise as the first of three thinking tools. It begins by raising a question about the normativity of norms. It notes that while diverse interpretations of norms facilitate a novel and important empirical angle on the role of norms in international relations, their impact remains to be explored more systematically with regard to the normative underpinnings of global governance. It then recalls how the concept of contestation in International Relations theories emerged through critical engagement with the compliance literature, especially by research inspired by the constructivist turn in international relations theories. The argument is developed with reference to the three segments on the cycle of contestation as well as the three stages of norm implementation.
Research Interests:
This chapter proposes that based on the principle of contestedness (as a meta-organising principle of global governance) access to regular contestation at the referring stage ought to be warranted. This stage is sector-specific and... more
This chapter proposes that based on the principle of contestedness (as a meta-organising principle of global governance) access to regular contestation at the referring stage ought to be warranted. This stage is sector-specific and therefore requires empirical research for identification. To illustrate this process, this chapter identifies the referring stage with reference to sector-specific organising principles that are derived from processes of policy-making. This application follows the definition of contestation as both indicative and required for legitimacy. Accordingly, the legitimacy gap is indicated by enhanced contestation (i.e. when taken for grantedness and moral value of a norm do not overlap). It is ‘space’ where normative meanings are contested in IR theories.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Constitutionalism is,… but a prism through which one can observe a landscape in a certain way, an academic artefact with which one can organize the milestones and landmarks within the landscape…, an intellectual construct by which one can... more
Constitutionalism is,… but a prism through which one can observe a landscape in a certain way, an academic artefact with which one can organize the milestones and landmarks within the landscape…, an intellectual construct by which one can assign meaning to, or even constitute, that which is observed. (Weiler 1999: 223; my emphasis) Introduction: emerging constitutional quality in a global context When speaking of a constitution, we mean a set of norms, principles and provisions and the mandate to organise the political (Snyder 1990; Preuss 1994; Rosenfeld 1994). In distinction from other agreements such as conventions or treaties, constitutions are expected to offer a ‘civilised’ and ‘embedded’ approach to settling conflicts while respecting the constituents’ wishes and ways of life. Constitutions relate to a set of cultural and social conditions within specific contexts, and they represent an agreement (written or not) among representatives of the governed within a community to make sure that the governors proceed according to the wishes of the former (Tully 1995; Walker 2002; Maduro 2003). While this type of agreement has had a long-standing role in domestic politics in Europe starting with the Greek city-states, a similar constitutional quality has emerged only much more recently in international politics.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Introduction: Contestation as a Norm-Generative Social Practice.- The Normativity Premise: The Normative Power of Contestation.- The Diversity Premise: The Legitimacy Gap in International Relations.- Cultural Cosmopolitanism:... more
Introduction: Contestation as a Norm-Generative Social Practice.- The Normativity Premise: The Normative Power of Contestation.- The Diversity Premise: The Legitimacy Gap in International Relations.- Cultural Cosmopolitanism: Contestedness and Contestation.- Thinking Tools and Central Concepts of the Theory of Contestation.- Applying the Theory of Contestation: Three Sectors of Global Governance.- Conclusion: Why a New Theory of Contestation?.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Business and Accounting
ABSTRACT Comment on a special issue.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter www.reconproject.eu ... Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1666688 Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter Informal elite dialogue and democratic control in EU foreign and security policy RECON... more
... Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter www.reconproject.eu ... Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1666688 Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter Informal elite dialogue and democratic control in EU foreign and security policy RECON Online Working Paper 2010/12 July ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: International Relations, Humanities, Meaning, Democracy, Constitutionalism, and 15 moreEU, Federal Republic of Germany, Constitution, Empirical, International Organization, Internationale Beziehungen, Great Britain, Norm, Demokratie, Basic Research, Bedeutung, constitutional State, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Grundlagenforschung, and Großbritannien
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: International Relations, International Law, Culture, International Politics, Constitutionalism, and 15 moreDiffusion, Case Study, Normative, Cultural Practice, Empirical Research, Kultur, Internationale Beziehungen, Norm, Cultural Factors, Convergence Theory, Basic Research, Normativität, Grundlagenforschung, Internationale Politik, and Konvergenztheorie
Research Interests:
This chapter demonstrates the close interdisciplinary relationship between constructivist political science and organizational sociology. What is now commonly called the ‘constructivist turn’ in International Relations theory and,... more
This chapter demonstrates the close interdisciplinary relationship between constructivist political science and organizational sociology. What is now commonly called the ‘constructivist turn’ in International Relations theory and, subsequently, in studies of European integration, builds on an interest in ‘the social’ among political scientists. This interest follows from the observation that many analyses of institutions tend to be ‘undersocialised in the sense that they pay insufficient attention to the ways in which actors in world politics are socially constructed’ (Wendt, 1999, 3–4). This has produced a new focus on the input of social facts (Ruggie, 1998) and the influence of social practices (Wendt, 1987; Koslowski and Kratochwil, 1994), and has facilitated an enhanced understanding of the social construction of European integration (Christiansen et al., 2001). As I argue in this chapter, this focus on the social represents a conceptual innovation of paradigmatic reach in political science, and offers an important tool for analysis of European integration.
Research Interests:
... Both developments contribute to the process of polity formation, both deepening and widening ... but also to provide a framework for elaborating on theoretical perspectives on ... The per-spectives presented in this book include... more
... Both developments contribute to the process of polity formation, both deepening and widening ... but also to provide a framework for elaborating on theoretical perspectives on ... The per-spectives presented in this book include policy studies, interdisciplinary approaches which see ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This chapter focuses on the diversity premise as the second thinking tool. To that end, it draws on diversity claims following empirical accounts of diversity along the ethno-methodological dimension of indexicality, on the one hand, and... more
This chapter focuses on the diversity premise as the second thinking tool. To that end, it draws on diversity claims following empirical accounts of diversity along the ethno-methodological dimension of indexicality, on the one hand, and normative arguments about culturally multiverse constitutional contexts, on the other. It refers to research on governance in the global realm as the terrain where the prospect of establishing and maintaining just and legitimate governance has been considered the greatest challenge and hence been most thoroughly imagined and contested by cosmopolitan philosophers ranging from Kant to Tully. It is argued that Tully’s philosophical contestation of Kant’s regulative ideal for a political order in Europe on cultural grounds is crucial for the premise of maintaining diversity. The chapter’s critical investigation into international relations theories hence applies the diversity premise to challenge the community ontology.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Status of Law begins with the suspicion ‘that “law” might have become the problem rather than the solution, and this problem requires further analysis.’ Given that law is a social construct, Kratochwil invites us to turn to the sites... more
The Status of Law begins with the suspicion ‘that “law” might have become the problem rather than the solution, and this problem requires further analysis.’ Given that law is a social construct, Kratochwil invites us to turn to the sites where this construction takes place. To bring the many constitutions and contestations of law to the fore, he conjures theoretical sparring partners to engage in nine meditations. The genius of this Symposium consists in inviting nine colleagues, each engaging with a different meditation, and inviting a tenth colleague to add this introduction as a way to engage the engagement. By doing practice on practice the Symposium does full justice Kratochwil’s move towards looking at the practice ‘in the middle of things.’ The resulting field day with Fritz is a piece of intellectual mastery compiled by ‘spirited members of the republic of letters’ that carries the reader along on a journey that reveals and addresses Kratochwil’s suspicions about the problem with law. In the end, we know more through sharing the problem and partaking in the joy of addressing it. In a nutshell, the Status of Law engages in a series of mediations that invite us to engage with that predicament by using our academic tools as best as we can (no need to get anxious). The Symposium’s engagements show precisely that: the ability and readiness to actually hear what Kratochwil is saying. By engaging with the engagements, the readership of this Symposium will draw their own conclusions about the promises of international law (and the discipline of International Law) despite the predicaments that Kratochwil addressed so wisely and carefully. Yet, they must engage themselves to get to the bottom of it all. Indeed, ‘Kratochwil is too smart to show us “the way” but he gives us tools to assess our journey and options — perhaps also by comparing our itineraries.’ And for that, the invitation is to start in the middle. That plunge must be taken individually. By offering their respective academic practice of embracing or eschewing the ‘midst’ which lies at the centre of Kratochwil’s grounding engagement with (legal) norms through critical pragmatism, this Symposium nicely sketches the ‘site’ where to do precisely that: generate knowledge through engagement with others.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
regular basis, complaining that the government was not responding to their needs. While it is not possible to capture citizen preferences over time in 311 municipalities, it is important to acknowledge these measurement problems and... more
regular basis, complaining that the government was not responding to their needs. While it is not possible to capture citizen preferences over time in 311 municipalities, it is important to acknowledge these measurement problems and qualify the findings. Moving on, Faguet then explores local-level dynamics. In the remainder of the book, he is interested in documenting variation in local government performance to understand “Why are the good good and the bad bad?” (p. 193). He begins by describing two case studies, one successful and one not. In 1997 Viacha, local government is ineffective, clientelistic, and corrupt. In 1997 Charagua, local government is working well and listening to its citizens. Why? Faguet takes a circuitous route to this response. We move through the national-level econometric analysis, confirming the findings already discussed here, and the extensive literature on decentralization. He then presents a model of local government responsiveness that explains performance. He argues that the “quality of a municipality’s politics” emerges as “the joint product of the lobbying and political engagement of its firms and other economic actors, and the organizational density and ability of its civil society” (p. 237). A trip back to his two cases shows how local government has changed over time, improving significantly in Viacha, and, not surprisingly, confirming this argument. Again, Faguet is taking on a significant issue. He wants us to think about why, if decentralization is so popular among policymakers, the results of these efforts are not more robust. He tells us that complex and context-specific processes are “unleashed” by these reforms. Local factors interact with the process to condition policy outcomes. While this may not be the most satisfying response, it is most certainly accurate and serves as an important reminder that context and process do matter. One strength of Decentralization and Popular Democracy is the author’s willingness to grapple with big-picture questions about the nature of the state and of public policy. He has observed some positive outcomes going on at the local level. His extensive data allow him to show why this is the case. One limitation is the Bolivian case itself. It may not lend itself to generalized conclusions. Bolivia’s reform is atypical in that it included participatory institutions that engage citizens in decision making in ways that few countries have. Thus, if the analysis is correct, the reform design—which is not discussed in much depth— probably plays a large role in explaining this outcome as well. In sum, the book is an important addition to the expansive literature on decentralization. It is a must-read for all scholars of decentralization and local government. It provides optimistic and intuitive responses to questions that have puzzled these scholars for decades. The Constitution’s Gift: A Constitutional Theory for a Democratic European Union. By John Erik Fossum and Agustín José Menéndez. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 314p. $80.00. doi:10.1017/S1537592713001266
Research Interests:
This paper discusses the potential of Union citizenship following the stipulation of Union citizenship in the 1993 Maastricht Treaty. As the first supranational citizenship, Union citizenship is conceptualised as a developing concept.... more
This paper discusses the potential of Union citizenship following the stipulation of Union citizenship in the 1993 Maastricht Treaty. As the first supranational citizenship, Union citizenship is conceptualised as a developing concept. Building on TH Marshall's concept of composite citizenship that rests on two tiers, namely historical elements (rights, access, belonging) and constitutive elements (the relationship between individual citizens and the polity, as routinised through citizenship practice), it is argued that Union citizenship has everything to gain from establishing place-oriented participation rights. The paper presents the novel concept of citizenship based on socio-historical account, and undertakes empirical research into advocacy group demands and policy discourse to address the potential for place-oriented citizenship in the European Union (EU).