Norm acceptance in the international community : a study of disaster risk reduction and climate-induced migration

Why do some proposed norms become accepted by the international community while others do not? This thesis investigates this central question using two normatively charged international issues – disaster risk reduction and climate-induced migration – as vehicles for explanation. While climate-induced migration attracted much attention in the years 2007–2008, the norm acceptance process was stymied and stalled before it had a chance to gain broad acceptance in the international community. Disaster risk reduction reached a more successful outcome with the international community agreeing to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015 and with recognition by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. This thesis draws on theories on norm dynamics to understand these contrasting outcomes. Most importantly, the study argues that existing literature on norms have not sufficiently accounted for contingent factors. This thesis suggests a way to theorize contingencies and to understand how they can influence the norm emergence process. In doing so, it provides new knowledge on how norms emerge, and how they become or do not become accepted in the international system. Elin Jakobsson is a researcher and a teacher in International Relations at Stockholm University. Norm Acceptance in the International Community is her doctoral dissertation. This is a Doctoral Thesis in International Relations at Stockholm University, Sweden 2018