Norms have never been absent from the study of international politics, but the sweeping “ideational turn” in the 1980s and 1990s brought them back as a central theoretical concern in the field. Much theorizing about norms has focused on how they create social structure, standards of appropriateness, and stability in international politics. Recent empirical research on norms, in contrast, has examined their role in creating political change, but change processes have been less well-theorized. We induce from this research a variety of theoretical arguments and testable hypotheses about the role of norms in political change. We argue that norms evolve in a three-stage “life cycle” of emergence, “norm cascades,” and internalization, and that each stage is governed by different motives, mechanisms, and behavioral logics. We also highlight the rational and strategic nature of many social construction processes and argue that theoretical progress will only be made by placing attention on the connections between norms and rationality rather than by opposing the two.

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International Norm Dynamics and Political Change

The New Transnational Activism, first published in 2005, shows how even the most prosaic activities can assume broader political meanings when they provide ordinary people with the experience of crossing transnational space. This means that we cannot be satisfied with defining transnational activists through the ways they think. The defining feature of transnationalism in this book is relational, and not cognitive. This emphasis on activism's relational structure means that even as they make transnational claims, transnational activists draw on the resources, the networks, and the opportunities in which they are embedded, and only then - if at all - on more distant transnational links. But we can no more sharply draw a line between domestic and international politics in studying transnational activism than we could ignore local politics in studying its national equivalent. Understanding the processes that link the local, the national and the international is the major undertaking of the book.

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The New Transnational Activism

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 17 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev., No. 1, Spring, 2009. Boston College Law Review 50 B.C. L. Rev., No. 3, May, 2009. Boston University Public Interest Law Journal 18 B.U. Pub. Int. L.J., No. 2, Spring, 2009. Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 10 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol., No. 2, Spring, 2009. Cardozo Public Law, Policy, & Ethics Journal 7 Cardozo Pub. L. Pol’y & Ethics J., No. 3, Summer, 2009. Chicago Journal of International Law 10 Chi. J. Int’l L., No. 1, Summer, 2009. Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 20 Colo. J. Int’l Envtl. L. & Pol’y, No. 2, Winter, 2009. Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts 32 Colum. J.L. & Arts, No. 3, Spring, 2009. Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal 8 Conn. Pub. Int. L.J., No. 2, Spring-Summer, 2009. Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 18 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol’y, No. 1, Fall, 2008. Cornell Law Review 94 Cornell L. Rev., No. 5, July, 2009. Creighton Law Review 42 Creighton L. Rev., No. 3, April, 2009. Criminal Law Forum 20 Crim. L. Forum, Nos. 2-3, Pp. 173-394, 2009. Delaware Journal of Corporate Law 34 Del. J. Corp. L., No. 2, Pp. 433-754, 2009. Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis 39 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis, No. 7, July, 2009. European Journal of International Law 20 Eur. J. Int’l L., No. 2, April, 2009. Family Law Quarterly 43 Fam. L.Q., No. 1, Spring, 2009. Georgetown Journal of International Law 40 Geo. J. Int’l L., No. 3, Spring, 2009. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 22 Geo. J. Legal Ethics, No. 2, Spring, 2009. Golden Gate University Law Review 39 Golden Gate U. L. Rev., No. 2, Winter, 2009. Harvard Environmental Law Review 33 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev., No. 2, Pp. 297-608, 2009. International Review of Law and Economics 29 Int’l Rev. L. & Econ., No. 1, March, 2009. Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation 24 J. Envtl. L. & Litig., No. 1, Pp. 1-201, 2009. Journal of Legislation 34 J. Legis., No. 1, Pp. 1-98, 2008. Journal of Technology Law & Policy 14 J. Tech. L. & Pol’y, No. 1, June, 2009. Labor Lawyer 24 Lab. Law., No. 3, Winter/Spring, 2009. Michigan Journal of International Law 30 Mich. J. Int’l L., No. 3, Spring, 2009. New Criminal Law Review 12 New Crim. L. Rev., No. 2, Spring, 2009. Northern Kentucky Law Review 36 N. Ky. L. Rev., No. 4, Pp. 445-654, 2009. Ohio Northern University Law Review 35 Ohio N.U. L. Rev., No. 2, Pp. 445-886, 2009. Pace Law Review 29 Pace L. Rev., No. 3, Spring, 2009. Quinnipiac Health Law Journal 12 Quinnipiac Health L.J., No. 2, Pp. 209-332, 2008-2009. Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal 44 Real Prop. Tr. & Est. L.J., No. 1, Spring, 2009. Rutgers Race and the Law Review 10 Rutgers Race & L. Rev., No. 2, Pp. 441-629, 2009. San Diego Law Review 46 San Diego L. Rev., No. 2, Spring, 2009. Seton Hall Law Review 39 Seton Hall L. Rev., No. 3, Pp. 725-1102, 2009. Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 18 S. Cal. Interdisc. L.J., No. 3, Spring, 2009. Stanford Environmental Law Journal 28 Stan. Envtl. L.J., No. 3, July, 2009. Tulsa Law Review 44 Tulsa L. Rev., No. 2, Winter, 2008. UMKC Law Review 77 UMKC L. Rev., No. 4, Summer, 2009. Washburn Law Journal 48 Washburn L.J., No. 3, Spring, 2009. Washington University Global Studies Law Review 8 Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev., No. 3, Pp.451-617, 2009. Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 29 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol’y, Pp. 1-401, 2009. Washington University Law Review 86 Wash. U. L. Rev., No. 6, Pp. 1273-1521, 2009. William Mitchell Law Review 35 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev., No. 4, Pp. 1235-1609, 2009. Yale Journal of International Law 34 Yale J. Int’l L., No. 2, Summer, 2009. Yale Journal on Regulation 26 Yale J. on Reg., No. 2, Summer, 2009.

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Current index to legal periodicals

The causal logic behind many arguments in historical institutionalism emphasizes the enduring impact of choices made during critical junctures in history. These choices close off alternative options and lead to the establishment of institutions that generate self-reinforcing path-dependent processes. Despite the theoretical and practical importance of critical junctures, however, analyses of path dependence often devote little attention to them. The article reconstructs the concept of critical junctures, delimits its range of application, and provides methodological guidance for its use in historical institutional analyses. Contingency is the key characteristic of critical junctures, and counterfactual reasoning and narrative methods are necessary to analyze contingent factors and their impact. Finally, the authors address specific issues relevant to both cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of critical junctures.

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The Study of Critical Junctures: Theory, Narrative, and Counterfactuals in Historical Institutionalism

This article takes initial steps in evaluating contending models of EU governance. We argue that the sovereignty of individual states is diluted in the European arena by collective decision-making and by supranational institutions. In addition, European states are losing their grip on the mediation of domestic interest representation in international relations. We make this argument along two tracks. First, we analyse the conditions under which central state executives may lose their grip on power. Next, we divide up the policy process into stages and specify which institutional rules may induce various actors to deepen EU policy-making.

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European integration from the 1980s: State-centric v. multi-level governance

I: The Varied Authority of International Courts 1: Karen J Alter, Laurence R Helfer and Mikael Rask Madsen: International Court Authority in a Complex World 2: Karen J Alter, Laurence R Helfer and Mikael Rask Madsen: How Context Shapes the Authority of International Courts II: International Courts in their Social and Political Context Africa 3: James Thuo Gathii: The East African Court of Justice: Human Rights and Business Actors Compared 4: Solomon Ebobrah: The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice: A Dual Mandate with Skewed Authority 5: Claire Moore Dickerson: The OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration: Its authority in the Formal and Informal Economy 6: Tendayi Achiume: The SADC Tribunal: Socio-Political Dissonance and the Authority of International Courts Latin America and the Caribbean 7: Salvatore Caserta, Mikael Rask Madsen: The Caribbean Court of Justice: A Regional Integration and Post-Colonial Court 8: Karen J Alter, Laurence R Helfer: The Andean Tribunal of Justice: From Washington Consensus to Regional Crisis 9: Alexandra Huneeus: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Constitutionalism and Constitutional Lawyers across Countries Europe 10: R Daniel Kelemen: The Court of Justice of the European Community: Changing Authority in the Twenty-First Century 11: Mikael Rask Madsen: The European Court of Human Rights: From the Cold War to the Brighton Declaration and Backlash Courts with a Global Reach 12: Emilia Justyna Powell: The International Court of Justice and Islamic Law States: Territory and Diplomacy 13: Gregory Shaffer, Manfred Elsig, Sergio Puig: The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body: Its Extensive but Fragile Authority 14: Leslie Vinjamuri: The International Criminal Court: The Paradox of Its Authority 15: Ron Levi, John Hagan, Sara Dezalay: International Criminal Tribunals: Prosecutorial Strategies in Atypical Political Environments III: Reflections on International Court Authority 16: Karen J Alter, Laurence R Helfer and Mikael Rask Madsen: International Court Authority in Question: Introduction to Part III 17: Andrei Marmor: Authority of International Courts: Scope, Power and Legitimacy 18: Michael Zurn: International Courts: Command v Reflexive Authority 19: Ingo Venzke: International Court's De Facto Authority and its Justification 20: Jessica Greenberg: Jurisdiction, politics and truth-making: International Courts and the formation of translocal legal cultures 21: Andreas Follesdal: The Lords and Lady doth Protest too Much, Methinks: On Authority, Legitimacy and Power, on Motives and Beliefs 22: Ian Hurd: Authority and International Courts: A Comment on 'Content Independent' Social Science IV: Growing and Diminishing IC Authority 23: Karen J Alter, Laurence R Helfer and Mikael Rask Madsen: Conclusion: Context, Authority, Power

International court authority

Most international relations approaches expect that states have unique preferences that international courts (ICs) must satisfying in order to be effective. Starting from the premise that states have within numerous conflicting preferences, I argue that ICs can act as tipping point actors, building and giving resources to compliance constituencies - coalitions of actors within and outside of states - that favor policies that happen to also be congruent with international law. Through alliances with domestic interlocutors, ICs help reconstitute law, politics and national interests. The tipping point argument suggests that ICs are not dependent on governments, on government-defined interpretation of international rules, or on accepting as given a government’s claim about the national interest. International courts are independent actors, but the preferences of compliance partners matters more than the preferences of the litigant, the defendant state and perhaps even the IC judges in determining where law and politics are reconstituted. A comparison of the European Court of Justice to the Andean Tribunal of Justice, two institutionally similar and very active international courts that have behaved very differently, illustrates how domestic compliance partners shape international judicial behavior.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1699758_code416472.pdf?abstractid=1699758&mirid=1

Tipping the Balance: International Courts and the Construction of International and Domestic Politics

The European Court of Justice and European Law

This is the first chapter of Romano C./Alter K./Shany Y. (eds.), The Oxford University Press Handbook of International Adjudication (2013). The primary goal of this introductory chapter is to document the institutional, legal, and empirical terrain that is the focus of the Handbook. It contains a quick digest for the rest of the volume, elucidating how the individual chapters connect and relate to aspects of international adjudication. The chapter begins by setting out definitional criteria and explaining key concepts, particularly what differentiates adjudicative bodies from diplomatic means and other non-binding procedures; judicial bodies from arbitral bodies; and international adjudicatory mechanisms from their domestic counterparts. The dozens of international adjudicative bodies currently existing are then arranged into two large groups: judicial bodies and arbitral bodies, and then they are divided into several sub-groups, according to similarities in structure or function. After laying down some key concepts and terms (Section I), the chapter puts forward a basic classification (Section II). It then presents the greatest challenges faced by contemporary international adjudication (Section III), the actors who participate in international adjudication and the main stakeholders (Section IV), and, finally, an overview of the main theoretical models applied to the study of international adjudication (Section V).

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2369114_code332621.pdf?abstractid=2369114&type=2

Karen J. Alter

Papers

International court authority

Tipping the Balance: International Courts and the Construction of International and Domestic Politics

The European Court of Justice and European Law

Mapping International Adjudicative Bodies, the Issues, and Players

The Multiplication of International Courts and Tribunals After the End of the Cold War