Policy and Norm Entrepreneurs: Normativity, Convergence, Legitimacy

Abstract: Policy entrepreneurs are actors in and around government who engage in collective action for the purpose of bringing about policy innovation and ultimately policy change. Introduced in the policy studies literature by John Kingdon in 1984, policy entrepreneurs constitute one of the main components of the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF). The ever-growing literature on policy entrepreneurs has shown that they are active in a variety of policy sectors and administrative systems. In the international relations literature, norm entrepreneurs are those actors who take advantage of propitious moments in time to “convince states to accept new standards of behavior” (Stefan, 2021, pp 198-9). In this paper, we explore the literature on policy entrepreneurs and norm entrepreneurs respectively aiming to understand conceptual similarities; points of divergence; degree of normativity, and prerequisites for legitimacy. We employ a comparative design with two case studies in crisis management and security in the Nordics: the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the securitization of the Norwegian petroleum industry. References Stefan, C. G. (2021). The Responsibility to Protect: Locating Norm Entrepreneurship. Ethics & International Affairs, 35(2), 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0892679421000216