Local reactions to norm setting activities of the international community in fragile post-conflict states are rarely analyzed in detail. Traditionally, International Relations theory is interested in the compliance with and conditions for the take-over of international norms regarding democracy, rule of law, but also the way international cooperation functions. The more complicated processes of localization, modification, and appropriation of international norm sets beyond the categories of rejection and take-over are hardly taken into account. Appropriation processes are taking place, both by the Guatemalan actors and by the donor community (international organizations, bilateral donors, NGO networks) on the ground. The “aid harmonization norm” is understood and translated in various ways by the actor groups. The international community has norm-setting powers, in the sense that, indeed, everyone in the development aid business has heard of Paris and uses the norm in their discourse. What the actor groups make of it, however, can only be understood in the local interaction context and leads to little changes of the aid business on the ground.
