Norms (DP IB Global Politics): Revision Note

Shared expectations in the global community

• Norms are widely accepted standards of behaviour for states and non-state actors

  • There is usually some kind of morality embedded in norms

• Norms can be found at all levels, but global norms are established by global actors and institutions and refer to values that include:

  • Respecting human rights

  • Preventing conflict

  • Promoting economic and social development

  • Protecting the environment 

  • Democracy 

• The concept of global norms is closely linked to liberalism, and is based on the idea that we live in an interconnected and interdependent world in which we must share the same norms and values to live peacefully and sustainably

Norms that regulate

• Some argue that norms are more effective than laws in regulating behaviour because actors are persuaded rather than forced to accept them

  • Many norms reflect values seen in multiple religions and cultures

  • Norms are drawn from accepted rules of behaviour which promote peace and stability, such as not doing harm to others

• Norms can regulate behaviour because states and other actors do not operate in isolation and care about what others think of them

  • In breaking norms state actors risk condemnation from other actors, which could have serious economic and political consequences

Democracy as a global norm

• One global norm is that democracy, though not perfect, is the best form of government because citizens have agency

  • Some states may represent themselves as democratic so that they seem to conform to this global norm even if, in practice, they are a single-party state

  • The NGO Freedom House singles out several states in Eastern Europe which claim to be democratic but seem to be moving away from democracy, including

    • Poland

    • Hungary

    • Serbia

    • Montenegro

• Liberalism may argue that this example shows that a respect for democracy is a global norm

  • If democracy were not so widely accepted as a global norm, states would not put effort into pretending to be more democratic than they are

• However, realism would argue that this example proves that global norms don’t exist and states' behaviours cannot be regulated

Shifting global norms

• Global norms are not fixed or permanent

  • In recent years there have been shifts in global norms as states challenge or openly ignore accepted norms about preserving peace and security

• Examples include:

  • Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine in 2022 

  • The USA’s threats against Greenland, Cuba and Venezuela

  • Israel’s genocide of Palestinians

• IGOs, once widely accepted as the best way to work together to resolve political issues and promote economic development, are becoming increasingly challenged

• Examples include:

  • The UK leaving the EU in 2020

  • Widespread criticism of the UN’s inability to resolve multiple crises 

Shifting norms about the responsibility of the state