This book examines the interaction between global norms and local contexts, from global norms about 'the rule of law' from the desks of development experts in Brussels to villages in rural Bangladesh, and what happens to 'the rule of law'.

What happens to transnational norms when they travel from one place to another? How do norms change when they move; and how do they affect the place where they arrive? This book develops a novel theoretical account of norm translation that is located in between theories of norm diffusion and norm localization. It demonstrates how such translations do not follow linear trajectories from 'the global' to 'the local', rather, they unfold in a recursive back and forth movement between different actors located in different context. As norms are translated, their meaning changes; and only if their meaning changes in ways that are intelligible to people within a specific context, the social and political dynamics of this context do change as well. This book analyses translations of 'the rule of law', focusing on contemporary donor-driven projects with non-state courts in rural Bangladesh, and shows how in these projects, global norms change local courts — but only if they are translated, often in unexpected ways from the perspective of international actors. Based on extensive fieldwork, this book reveals how grassroots level employees of local NGOs significantly alter the meaning of global norms — for example when they translate secular notions of the rule of law into the language of Islam and Islamic Law — and only thereby also enhance participatory spaces for marginalized people.

This book argues that global rule-of-law standards in post-conflict states are reshaped in interactive translation processes between external and domestic actors.

Research on global norm diffusion and institutional transfer has often neglected the agency of the governed. This collection argues that limited statehood – the lack of state capacities in most parts of the global South – provides opportunities for the governed to raise their voices and be listened to. Thus, people on the receiving end of development cooperation, state building, or security interventions can significantly shape global dynamics of normative and institutional change. Drawing on the emerging body of literature on the agency of the governed, this book assesses the current dynamics of transfer and diffusion studies at the interstice of political science and social anthropology. By focusing on the agency of the governed, the authors integrate a broad spectrum of issues and debates, from the proliferation of global norms to state and security building to international policy cooperation. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of global politics and international relations, particularly those focusing on the global South. It was originally published as a special issue of the online journal Third World Thematics.

This book is a political ethnography of norm diffusion and storytelling through international institutions in China. It is driven by intellectual puzzles and realpolitik questions: are we converging or diverging on values? Do emerging powers reinforce or reshape the existing international order? Are international institutions socialising emerging powers or being used to promote alternative norms? This book addresses these questions through fieldwork research over three years at the United Nations Development Programme in China, the first international development agency to enter post-reform China in 1979. It provides a crucial case to study the everyday practices of norm diffusion in emerging powers, and highlights the central role of storytelling in translating and contesting normative scripts. The book selects norms in human rights, rule of law and development cooperation to analyse how translators and brokers innovatively use stories to advocate, and how these normative stories move back-and-forth between local-global spaces and orders. "A fascinating ethnography that tells us much about international institutions and China's changing role in the world: of interest both to China specialists and theorists of international relations." —Rana Mitter, Director of the University of Oxford China Centre, University of Oxford, UK “Through pioneering ethnographic research, Xiaoyu Lu’s outstanding book makes a major contribution to our understanding of norm diffusion and the ways in which China is shaping, and is shaped by, international development norms. Lu’s richly textured analysis shows how ‘norm translators’ use case studies, personal stories, and other narratives to negotiate between global and local normative orders, and to facilitate the day-to-day processes of norm diffusion." —Amy King, Associate Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, Australia "An intricate account of the everyday politics in international development institution, that will enrich our understanding of emerging powers and their roles in global development.” —Emma Mawdsley, Director of the Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies, University of Cambridge, UK

Virtually all pertinent issues that the world faces today – such as nuclear proliferation, climate change, the spread of infectious disease and economic globalization – imply objects that move. However, surprisingly little is known about how the actual objects of world politics are constituted, how they move and how they change while moving. This book addresses these questions through the concept of 'translation' – the simultaneous processes of object constitution, transportation and transformation. Translations occur when specific forms of knowledge about the environment, international human rights norms or water policies consolidate, travel and change. World Politics in Translation conceptualizes 'translation' for International Relations by drawing on theoretical insights from Literary Studies, Postcolonial Scholarship and Science and Technology Studies. The individual chapters explore how the concept of translation opens new perspectives on development cooperation, the diffusion of norms and organizational templates, the performance in and of international organizations or the politics of international security governance. This book constitutes an excellent resource for students and scholars in the fields of Politics, International Relations, Social Anthropology, Development Studies and Sociology. Combining empirically grounded case studies with methodological reflection and theoretical innovation, the book provides a powerful and productive introduction to world politics in translation.

When international courts are given sweeping powers, why would they ever refuse to use them? The book explains how and when courts employ strategies for institutional survival and resilience: forbearance and audacity, which help them adjust their sovereignty costs to pre-empt and mitigate backlash and political pushback. By systematically analysing almost 2,300 judgements from the European Court of Human Rights from 1967–2016, Ezgi Yildiz traces how these strategies shaped the norm against torture and inhumane or degrading treatment. With expert interviews and a nuanced combination of social science and legal methods, Yildiz innovatively demonstrates what the norm entails, and when and how its contents changed over time. Exploring issues central to public international law and international relations, this interdisciplinary study makes a timely intervention in the debate on international courts, international norms, and legal change. This book is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

"Abstract Global legal pluralism has become one of the leading analytical frameworks for understanding and conceptualizing law in the twenty-first century"--

One of the most noted developments in international law over the past twenty years is the proliferation of international courts and tribunals. They decide who has the right to exploit natural resources, define the scope of human rights, delimit international boundaries and determine when the use of force is prohibited. As the number and influence of international courts grow, so too do challenges to their legitimacy. This volume provides new interdisciplinary insights into international courts' legitimacy: what drives and undermines the legitimacy of these bodies? How do drivers change depending on the court concerned? What is the link between legitimacy, democracy, effectiveness and justice? Top international experts analyse legitimacy for specific international courts, as well as the links between legitimacy and cross-cutting themes. Failure to understand and respond to legitimacy concerns can endanger both the courts and the law they interpret and apply.

Examines the involvement of local actors in conflicts over global norms at the intersection between international relations and international law.