Norms, Practices, and Social Change in Global Politics

Debate over how to recognize and understand change and continuity has long animated the field of IR. This Element brings norm-oriented and practice-oriented approaches into conversation to advance a wide-ranging account of change and continuity in global politics. It elaborates four scenarios in which norm and practice interactions produce change and continuity: relative continuity and a tight coupling of practices and norms; change through accidental incompetence; new competencies that create disjunctures; and change through deliberate contestation. It also demonstrates the utility of the approach using empirical illustrations, including the changing practice of the norm of consular support for citizens abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic and the evolving disjuncture between the 'global partnership for development' norm and practices of development. The Element shows the wider applicability of the scenarios for major contemporary debates about change in global governance and security. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.