Investigating Instances of Illiberal Norm Diffusion: Actors, Mechanisms and Outcomes II

Abstract

While recent academic debates in the social sciences have developed fine-grained accounts of normative shifts that entail the spreading of so-called liberal norms (i.e. rights and practices that expand individual freedoms), these explanations fall short of accounting for shifts in a more restrictive direction. Out panels address the liberal bias inherent in the existing literature by addressing instances of illiberal norm diffusion. The extensive literature on mechanisms underlying processes of norm diffusion has so far focused on the presence of transnational civil society actors that act as norm entrepreneurs or on states’ international reputational gains that come with an overtly liberal identity. Neither of these two factors is likely to apply equally in the case of illiberal norm diffusion. Instead, preliminary research points to the relevance of material factors and practical feasibilities. Therefore, the aim of these panels is to develop new empirical and theoretical perspectives exploring the origins, mechanisms, actors and outcomes present in processes of illiberal norm diffusion. This second panel examines the contested nature of ‘liberal’ and ‘illiberal’ norms and how it has become empirically difficult to classify actors by their supposedly ‘liberal’ or ‘illiberal’ nature and practices.

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