These virtual events are open to everyone interested and address different topics related to norms research.
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Book Talk with Flavia Lucenti, Jonas Fritzler and Carmen Wunderlich (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Contestation in Prism. The Evolution of Norms and Norm Clusters in Contemporary Global Politics (Springer, Norms Research in International Relations Series, 2025)
22 January 2026 | 12:15–13:15 (online)
Please register here: https://uni-hamburg.zoom.us/meeting/register/mSMp6AevS_GfvX1Fb2PMKw
This event is open to colleagues, students, and everyone interested in norms research.
The edited volume “Contestation in Prism. The Evolution of Norms and Norm Clusters in Contemporary Global Politics” analyses the complex dynamics of international norm contestation and explores how norms adapt and withstand challenges in different settings. Examining the interplay between various types of contestation, norm robustness, and the resilience of norm clusters, it sheds light on norm contestation as a multifaceted process with far-reaching implications.
In this context, it further discusses different conceptions of contestation, ranging from reactive vs. proactive contestation and applicatory vs. validity contestation, to inadvertent, i.e. interpretive vs. deliberate contestation. It then develops a theoretical model that links contestation ‘in prism’ with studies of norm clusters, or norms that are embedded in broader normative structures and interwoven with other normative meanings. Based on a strong theoretical framing, the book presents in-depth analyses of norm contestation in areas such as regional organizations, nuclear non-proliferation, norms relating to atrocities, and international criminal law. You can find more information about the book here.
In the book talk, Carmen Wunderlich will present the book before Jonas Fritzler and Flavia Lucenti will present their respective chapters “Soft Contestation of the Responsibility to Protect? Assessing Canada and Sweden’s Norm Diplomacy” and “Conceptualising the Responsibility to Prosecute Norm as a Norm Cluster: Impunity for War Crimes in Sri Lanka”. This will be followed by a Q&A.
Here ist the poster of the event. This event will be held in English.
We look very much forward to welcoming you to the event’.
Bastian Loges, Berenike Prem, Johanna Speyer and Jan Wilkens
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We are delighted to invite you to the book talk with Anette Stimmer (St Andrews) about her book,The Politics of International Norms: A Rhetorical Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Elvira Rosert will be the discussant kicking off the Q&A. This event is open to colleagues, students, and everyone interested in norms research. Anette Stimmer’s recently published book ‘The Politics of International Norms: A Rhetorical Approach’ (Cambridge University Press, 2025) sheds light on the effect episodes of contestation can have on norm strength. By using insights from rhetorical theories, she shows that it matters what norm elements are contested. Disagreements on the norm frame (e.g. over whether ‘due process’ or the UN Security Council’s prerogative prevails) tend to involve more uncertainty about the international community’s expectations than narrower disagreements on the behavioural claim (e.g. whether an Ombudsperson or an international court shall safeguard due process). The greater the uncertainty about what the international community considers appropriate, the weaker the norm. Furthermore, the book explains how three classical elements of rhetoric – speakers (including delegation to agents), argumentation and audience reactions – influence the duration of contestation and its outcome. The reactions of in-group members, for instance, are particularly influential for whether contested norm interpretations can be upheld. This rhetorical approach is applied to eight recent norm disputes, including the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War, the 2011 No-Fly Zone over Libya, the South China Sea dispute, and contestation over the human rights of terror suspects. You can find more information about the book here. Here ist the poster of the event. This event will be held in English.
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