What's in a Norm? Centering the Study of Moral Values in Scholarship on Norm Interactions

Abstract

Some norms go through long contested periods, resulting in norm change, rejection, or persisting conflict. Others are adopted quite quickly, with little resistance across diverse societies. An underlying and unanswered theoretical question is why? A foundational characteristic of a norm as a concept, and a key aspect of constructivist scholarship on norms, is the role of values and moral principles in giving norms meaning and in motivating global policy change. For a field placing significant emphasis on the importance of ideas, the limited theorizing around the value-based content of these ideas is a notable shortcoming. Emphasizing the importance of moral values as among the most deeply held beliefs, I outline a theory of how moral values and moral distance can help explain why certain normative processes and outcomes occur. Building from constructivist work on norms and social psychology scholarship on morality, I propose that moral distance, the degree of alignment, overlap, or separation in moral values between actors can help to explain the type of contestation, the intensity and duration of contestation, and what processes or outcomes are more likely to transpire. The shorter the moral distance, the more likely persuasion or adaptations will occur, leading to the eventual adoption of a norm. The greater the moral distance, the more likely prolonged and heated contestation will occur, leading to rejection or enduring contestation. I argue that centering the analysis of moral values and moral distance in research on normative agreement and disagreement can therefore contribute to understanding why or under what circumstances conflict is more or less likely to happen.

Geopolitics and norms: Latin America and the international human rights regime

“…This decision can be interpreted as a pragmatic strategy to contain military and authoritarian influence in domestic politics and as an ideological alignment with liberalism. From a different point of view, Quissell (2022) also relates norm adoption to ethics and moral motivations.…”

“…This adoption of a Western liberal norm is a declaration of guiding principles accompanied by an adaptation logic (Serbin & Serbin Pont, 2015, p. 13) to limit the political conduct of extra‐regional actors. This strategy illustrates the validity of Winston's (2018) tripartite norm model and questions the applicability of Quissell's (2022) moral‐based model, at least in the Latin American context.…”