Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'International normative theory'

This thesis articulates a normative theory of international law based on new natural law theory. New natural law theory is a theory of ethics, politics, and law that is based on the classical natural law doctrine of Thomas Aquinas. The primary reference point of the thesis in relation to new natural law theory is the work of John Finnis, who in Natural Law and Natural Rights and subsequent writings elaborates the theory in the consideration of fundamental concepts in political philosophy and legal theory. The thesis examines the tenets of new natural law theory regarding the common good, authority, law, justice, human rights, and legal obligation, and uses these to formulate normative claims regarding the moral purpose of international law and the moral standards that international law should satisfy in light of its purpose. The thesis posits the existence of an ‘international common good’, encompassing a set of supranational conditions that are instrumental to human welfare and that require international cooperation for their realisation. The thesis claims that the primary moral purpose of international authority and international law is to further the international common good through resolving the coordination problems of the international community of states. Identifying ‘principles of justice’ for international law, the thesis asserts that positive international law should promote and demonstrate respect for human rights, and should also promote and protect the international common good. The thesis further argues that states have a general moral obligation to obey international law, based primarily on the necessity of state compliance with international laws in order to facilitate the effectiveness of such laws in promoting the international common good. These claims are elaborated with reference to existing features of international law, and through comparison with existing normative and non-normative perspectives in international legal theory on the concepts considered.

Intersubjectivity is underspecified in normative international relations theory. This underspecification inhibits normative IR methodology and discourse with interest-based theoreticians. Here new advances in embodied cognition, collectively called embodied cognition, are discussed as a possible methodological framework for normative IR. Specific interdisciplinary modeling techniques are offered.

The thesis argues for the centrality of normative theory in the study of international relations because of its unique capacity to address values comprehensively, in contrast to the dominant traditions of political realism which marginalises their theoretical significance. Two themes develop, each reflecting opposing pairs: fact/value, is/ought, description/prescription, feasibility/desirability. The first theme concerns the epistemological framework provided by a normative account of such values as the security and stability of knowledge and the orderly apprehension of the world. In contrast to realism, normative theory maintains the distinction between sensory experience and the assignment of meaning, indicating the contingent nature of epistemological foundations. The second theme concerns the political conditions of knowledge which determine the role of different theories, indicating the need for an adaptation of the traditional normative scholarship by overcoming the separation of ethics from politics which has so far limited its role. As values are central phenomena in politics, and politics is essentially normative in form (as is knowledge of it), consideration of value questions cannot be limited to peripheral commentary. The two themes emerge through analyses of the theoretical literature in international relations; of the philosophical foundations of normative theory; of its relationship to ideas and ideologies; of the encapsulation of values and interests in world views; of the communicative dynamic of norms in ethics and epistemology; and finally of the applied cases of deterrence, and foreign policy. The centrality of normative theory is indicated, and its relation to political theory and the study of international relations is examined.

Theorising about international relations has progressed in recent years, and dialogue between the concurrent disciplines of International Relations, political theory and international law has started to emerge. There is, however, work still to be done in fostering a genuine ‘International Theory’ containing the potential to truly transcend arbitrary disciplinary and methodological boundaries, particularly where the subject matter of the respective disciplines – namely, an inquiry into the means by which a true understanding of the nature and conditions of international relations may be realised – is trans-disciplinary in nature. My thesis seeks to reanalyse the poststructuralist critique of the discipline of International Relations from a contemporary perspective, made possible by the trans-disciplinary progress alluded to above. I choose poststructuralism as a means of considering the most radical attack on the foundations and methodological commitments of traditional IR as I believe the responses which originated from within the discipline – social constructivism in particular – did not go far enough in grounding a robust yet legitimate means by which to construct an understanding of international relations capable of transcending the challenge of poststructuralism. I consider such positions and the constitutive theory of Mervyn Frost in detail before examining the potential of a theoretical amalgamation of the philosophical constructivism of John Rawls with a holistic social constructivist conception of the nature of practical reasoning with norms, as expounded by Friedrich Kratochwil, to ground a ‘completed’ account of normative reasoning capable of overcoming the poststructuralist critique. Finally, I defend the Rawlsian conception of reasonableness (through an analysis of the interpretation afforded such by Peri Roberts) from the charge of overdemandingness levelled at it by Catriona McKinnon. I conclude by claiming that the Rawlsian ideas of reasonableness and public reason can, when combined with Kratochwil’s conception of practical reason, ground a valid response to the challenge of poststructuralism.

This Thesis explains that the development of a method by which researchers can identify normative behaviour of translators will enable the standardisation of equivalences between English and Arabic. The thesis suggests that achieving such a method will minimise political disputes. In showing that norms have an effect on the behaviour of translators, the thesis examines and evaluates the resulting products of translators, i.e. translations, and presents explanations of why these effects occur. By eliminating the choices of equivalences, which were prejudiced by translators' normative behaviour, the standardisation could be achievable. The thesis underscores the inadequacy of the suggestion that translators should learn a certain set of translational norms and should follow them. It argues, however, that being exposed to various norms whether, translational, cultural or otherwise plays an important role in the quality of translation. In illustrating the latter, the thesis provides an empirical study by which one hundred different translations are analysed by the use of a manual corpora method. The experiment records significant factors, which prove the effects of norms on translators, and offers different measures by which these factors are evaluated. Accordingly, the thesis examines the normative behaviour of translators in their decision-making process in relation to the translation of legal texts as part of international documents only. The thesis uses the 10rdanIsraeli Peace Treaty signed in 1994 as a case study. The key point is that, if legal and political translation between English and Arabic is prejudiced by negative normative behaviour, this will without doubt result in political disputes. The aim of this thesis is to suggest a method by which Arabic equivalences of English legal terms are relatively' standardised and compiled in an index to be referred to by legal translators in iUture cases. The thesis suggests the establishment of a translation planning committee (TPC) to act as the authority responsible for conducting the suggested method.

The vast number of refugees in the world represents a very real, quantifiable, and troublesome "problem" for mainstream scholars of International Relations (IR). Mainstream IR is not able to address the problem of the refugee because of its emphasis on the state as a central actor and its inattention to justice in an international system. This thesis argues that the approaches of the English School and normative theory might come together to create a "via media" or middle ground which better addresses the problem of the refugee in international relations than mainstream IR has to date. While both approaches have limitations, the concept of international society and order versus justice debate of the English School compliments the attention given by normative theory to state responsibility and justice concerns of normative theory. The English School and normative theory can work in tandem to provide a middle ground which can directly address the problem of the refugee. The two approaches together provide a better way to start the conversation concerning the refugee.

This thesis provides the theoretical groundwork for a 'virtue ethical' account of international political conduct. The project begins by investigating the distinct patterns of normative theorising within international scholarship, noting not only that moral philosophical foundations are unpronounced and interchangeable, but that even in this diminished capacity the influence of virtue ethical thought is limited and fragmentary relative to its competitors. Redressing this underrepresentation is thus dually motivated: developing a fresh perspective on important global issues, whilst also subjecting the theory to an atypical angle of scrutiny. Adapting virtue ethics to the international realm requires, most essentially, that we settle the level at which its concepts should be applied. Can the theory’s central focus on character be reconciled with the collective nature of global political interaction? Can we accurately ascribe virtues and vices to governments and states? These questions of group agency form the heart of thesis investigation. Beginning from abstract foundations, the possible justification for such ascriptions is sought in competing theories of joint action and attitude. The 'individualist' accounts of Searle and Bratman are ultimately rejected in favour of Gilbert's non-reductive 'plural subject' theory, and - presenting group-level accounts of intention, motivation, practical wisdom, emotion and disposition around her concept of 'joint commitment' - a general model of collective character is constructed. Allied to additional requirements of moral responsibility, this framework is then used to assess the virtue-capability of actual political bodies, considering the decision-making hierarchy of the United Kingdom as a case study for the modern state. Tracing the route of policy authorisation across cabinet, government and parliament, a sophisticated yet ultimately impermanent picture of group-virtue-ethical agency is established, in tension with the notion of enduring state liability. By shifting focus to the national level, it is argued that this fluctuating footprint of agency can nevertheless be unified, modifying Gilbert’s notion of a 'population joint commitment' to tie institutional virtue and vice to a persisting state identity. This provides a template for international character evaluation.

The purpose of this thesis is theory development. It begins by evaluating existing explanations of why states undertake humanitarian intervention. Realists argue that states only intervene when their national interests are at stake. Normative scholars argue that states are at times motivated to save foreign citizens. Neither approach adequately accounts for the pattern of post-Cold War state practice. Building from this conclusion, the thesis conducts research based on two propositions derived from an analysis of existing debates: that examining state motive holds promise for elucidating the weaknesses in current approaches and that studying state argumentation can provide insight into state motives. To better investigate state motives, a theoretical framework is developed to explain how motives translate into state decision-making and manifest themselves in state argumentation. By employing process tracing, argumentation analysis, and elite interviews, this framework is applied to three cases: Northern Iraq in 1991, Rwanda in 1994, and East Timor in 1999. Each case study constructs a theoretically informed narrative, assesses debates between states at the United Nations Security Council, and evaluates the consistency between state discourse and state practice. The cases are then used heuristically to identify opportunities for improving existing theory and developing new theory. This yields several conclusions. First, not only do states often possess mixed motives, but the humanitarian impulse also appears in some cases to have been a necessary condition for humanitarian intervention. Second, the norm of humanitarian intervention does not function as a general rule. Rather, it is a cluster of principles derived from just war theory and international law, but also connected to related norms about sovereignty, human rights, and self-determination. Third, state decision-making is a collective process structured by the prevailing post-Cold War institutional and normative context. The thesis concludes by outlining promising avenues of research for better understanding why states respond to some occurrences of mass atrocities and not others.

The thesis aims to address criticisms of cosmopolitanism that characterise it as an elite discourse, by exploring the role that it might play in Third World resistance movements. In doing so, it complicates the landscape of international normative theory, which has traditionally been mapped as a debate between cosmopolitanism and communitarianism. Part I of the thesis argues that cosmopolitanism and communitarianism can function as languages in which First and Third World states respectively justify exercises of power that impede the self-determination of Third World societies. These discourses of power frame the condition of postcoloniality, which might be understood – borrowing the terminology of International Society theorists – as an entrapment of Third World societies between 'coercive solidarism' and 'authoritarian pluralism'. A normative worldview committed to enhancing the scope for self-determination of such societies must be critical of the production of both external and internal environments that are hostile to the enjoyment of self-determination by Third World peoples. Part II of the thesis explores the political challenges of sustaining such a critique by studying four theorists of resistance who perceive themselves as manoeuvring between hostile external and internal environments. It analyses the political thought of Rabindranath Tagore and Edward Said, who were both leading figures of anti-colonial nationalist movements but also fierce critics of nationalism. It also studies the activism of two leaders in the field of 'anti-globalisation' protest – Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas in Mexico and Professor Nanjundaswamy of the Karnataka State Farmers' Association in India – who struggle against both national elites and global capital. Part II concludes that if resistance in the condition of postcoloniality must grapple simultaneously with both a hostile 'outside' and 'inside', it must speak in mixed registers of universalism and particularity. Cumulatively, the thesis demonstrates that the language of common humanity operates in ways that are both oppressive and emancipatory, just as the language of community is a source of both repression and refuge. Normative theory that does not seek to hold both in tension fails the needs of our non-ideal world.

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Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
This research examines the ability to normative creation of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Previous surveys had indicated that the ILO had participation in public debate on labour issues in Brazil. Objectives: To evaluate the importance of the ILO in standardization of labour issues. Method: The research relies on the available documentation (NATLEX and ILOLEX) and the national and international literature about ILO. Results: The research showed two Features: 1) The ILO project has changed very little due to its institutional design that gives the organization the flexibility to act in different contexts of different times. 2) The ILO has a capacity required to guide decisions of actors and even set new agendas in Brazil.
Essa pesquisa analisa a capacidade de criação normativa da Organização Internacional do Trabalho (OIT). Levantamentos prévios indicam que há participação da OIT no debate público sobre questões laborais no Brasil. Objetivos: Avaliar a evolução estrutural da OIT e sua importância na normatização de questões trabalhistas brasileiras. Método: A pesquisa assenta-se na documentação disponível (NATLEX e ILOLEX) e na literatura nacional e internacional sobre a OIT. Resultados: A pesquisa aponta duas características: 1) O projeto da OIT pouco se alterou devido a seu desenho institucional que confere a organização flexibilidade para atuar em diferentes contextos de diferentes épocas; 2) A OIT possui capacidade de pautar decisões de atores e de influenciar a criação de novas agendas no Brasil.

L’étude du renouvellement normatif du droit des contrats conduit à présenter le phénomène avant d’envisager sa portée. En premier lieu, ce phénomène est aisément observable et met en évidence deux crises : une « crise de croissance » et une « crise de normativité ». Toutes deux confirment une tendance à l’instrumentalisation des normes qui se veulent désormais harmonisatrices, protectrices, modèles ou encore persuasives. La part de nouveauté réside dans leur texture, leur élaboration ou encore leur mise en œuvre. Et les difficultés engendrées par ce renouvellement concernent l’articulation des diverses normes qui régissent le droit des contrats, ainsi que leur intégration au sein de l’ordre juridique interne.En second lieu, il s’agit de se questionner sur l’intérêt et l’influence de ce renouvellement à travers sa capacité à produire des effets sur le modèle contractuel. Au regard de la récente réforme, le renouvellement normatif a vraisemblablement participé à la modernisation du Code civil puisque des mouvements convergents vers la souplesse contractuelle et la sécurité juridique sont observés. Cependant, la limite des effets de ce renouvellement apparaît car il ne provoque pas une modélisation du droit des contrats qui permettrait de maintenir une cohérence malgré les transformations majeures à l’œuvre en la matière
The study of the normative renewal of contract law requires a general presentation of the phenomenon before taking an in-depth look at its impact. Firstly, this phenomenon is easily noticeable and calls attention to two crisis : a “growth crisis” and a “normative crisis”. Both highlight a tendency to exploit norms by making them instruments of harmonization, protection, standardization or persuasion. The innovation comes from their substance, their elaboration or their enforcement, however, the articulation of the various contract law norms and their integration within the domestic legal order raise many issues that need to be addressed. Secondly, this renewal’s potentiality to influence and impact contractual models needs to be questioned. Taking the recent reform into account, it seems that the normative renewal has taken a major role in the modernization of the Civil code. Indeed, converging movements towards both contractual flexibility and legal security are visible. However, this normative renewal movement is still unable to promote a modelling of contract law that would allow it to maintain its coherence in spite of the major transformations taking place. As such, the normative renewal of contract law shows its limits

Le présent mémoire se consacre à la question des revendications normatives des peuples autochtones en droit international. On y constate que la reconnaissance de ces dernières représente un défi important autant pour les institutions internationales que pour la philosophie libérale qui en constitue le fondement. Cette reconnaissance sera graduellement admise par les institutions internationales majeures préoccupées par les droits humains. Un corpus normatif international spécifique et exclusif aux autochtones sera ainsi développé pour répondre à leurs aspirations et besoins. La définition de l’identité autochtone permet d’exposer cette particularité de traitement des autochtones en droit international. Elle se fonde sur deux axes. Le premier est culturel, suggérant une différence autochtone fondée sur une conception holistique du monde, laquelle est intimement liée au territoire. Le deuxième axe est historique; il fait appel à une longue présence sur un lieu, parfois qualifiée d’immémoriale, en tous les cas antérieure au contact avec un envahisseur qui mènera à leur situation actuelle de marginalisation. Ces fondements identitaires se trouvent à la source des justifications des revendications normatives autochtones. Cependant, ces fondements posent des problèmes de qualification difficiles à concilier avec la diversité des bénéficiaires des droits des autochtones. Ils entraînent également des difficultés importantes au regard de la théorie politique, laquelle s’efforce de réconcilier les revendications autochtones avec le libéralisme et les structures politiques actuelles. Une réconciliation entre les peuples autochtones et les États soulève en effet de délicates questions de légitimité et de justice. Afin d’éviter les pièges d’une autochtonie confinée dans un paradigme culturel et historique, S. J. Anaya propose le concept d’autodétermination comme fondement unique des revendications autochtones. Ce concept doit cependant lui-même faire face à un défi de conciliation avec les structures politiques existantes. Nous verrons que s’il permet de poser les jalons d’une nouvelle relation politique, le droit à l’autodétermination des peuples autochtones semble cependant incapable de dépasser les fondements de la culture et de l’histoire inhérents à l’identité autochtone.
This essay is dedicated to the issue of the normative claims of indigenous peoples in international law. It exposes the significant challenge that the recognition of these normative claims represent for both international institutions and the liberal philosophy which is at its foundation. This recognition will be gradually accepted by major international institutions concerned with human rights. An international body of standards specifically dedicated to aboriginal aspirations and needs will thus be developed. The definition of indigenous identity exposes the justifications for a particular treatment of indigenous peoples in international law. It is based on two axes. The first one is cultural, suggesting a difference based on a holistic view that aboriginals have of the world which is intimately linked to land. The second axis is historical, supposing a long territorial presence, sometimes referred to as immemorial, which is prior to a contact with an invader that will eventually lead to their marginalization. These foundations of indigenous identity are at the source of the justification of indigenous normative claims. However, these foundations pose problems of characterization which are difficult to reconcile with the diversity of indigenous rights beneficiaries. They also pose significant difficulties in terms of political theory, which seeks to reconcile aboriginal claims with liberalism and contemporary political structures. Undeniably, reconciliation between indigenous peoples and states raises difficult questions of legitimacy and justice. To avoid the risks of an «indigeneity» trapped in a cultural-historical paradigm, S. J. Anaya proposes the concept of self-determination as the sole basis of aboriginal claims. This concept, however, must itself meet a challenge of reconciliation with the existing political structures. We shall see that even if it does help to lay the basis for a new political relationship, the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples seems unable to overcome the foundations of culture and history associated with aboriginal identity.
"Mémoire présenté à la faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de maître en droit". Commentaires du jury : "Le jury tient à souligner que le mémoire dépasse largement les attentes pour un mémoire de maîtrise, tant pour ce qui concerne la recherche que pour l'envergure de la réflexion. Le candidat a un potentiel certain pour entreprendre des études doctorales. Il a également le mérite d'avoir utilisé avec succès une approche interdisciplinaire. Son mémoire mériterait d'être publié en tenant compte des commentaires qui lui seront transmis par son directeur."