EMERGING INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND STATE BEHAVIOR: CHINESE FOREIGN POLICY BETWEEN “PLURALIST PULL” AND “SOLIDARIST PUSH”
EMERGING INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND STATE BEHAVIOR: CHINESE FOREIGN POLICY BETWEEN “PLURALIST PULL” AND “SOLIDARIST PUSH”

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the impact of emerging international norms on the behavior of states, thus endeavoring to fill a gap within the constructivist IR scholarship which has mostly focused on the relationship between fully-fledged, inter-subjective and internalized norms and the behavior these norms encourage. The main argument it advances is that emerging norms should not be considered as legitimate. Instead, they should be understood in terms of the (morally charged) legitimacy claims that sustain them and have the ability to prompt states to consider compliance due to a fear of international shaming, exclusion or some other losses. Empirically, the article makes an inquiry into China’s approach to the “responsibility to protect” (R2P) principle by examining its recent voting strategies in the UN Security Council, namely its abstention on the Resolution tackling Libyan crisis and three subsequent vetoes in relation to Syrian uprising.

• Details
• Contents