How do religious norms diffuse? Institutional translation and international change in a post-secular world society
| DOI | 10.1177/1354066114542663 |
| Date | 01 September 2015 |
| Author | Gregorio Bettiza,Filippo Dionigi |
| Published date | 01 September 2015 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
European Journal of
International Relations
2015, Vol. 21(3) 621 –646
© The Author(s) 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/1354066114542663
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E
JR
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How do religious norms diffuse?
Institutional translation and
international change in a post-
secular world society
Gregorio Bettiza
European University Institute, Italy
Filippo Dionigi
The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Abstract
This article draws from Habermasian post-secular theory to broaden the scope of
Constructivist research on norm dynamics beyond its current Western-centric focus.
In an increasingly post-secular world society, we conceptualize the mechanism of
institutional translation to explain processes of norm diffusion whereby culturally situated
‘thick’ norms acquire a ‘thinner’ ethical status via a dialogical process of normative
contestation across diverse ethical perspectives. Institutional translation differs from, but
also complements, mechanisms of norm diffusion, such as persuasion and localization, by
illustrating how norms conceived and promoted by non-Western religious-based actors
can acquire global legitimacy within the institutions of the international liberal order.
The article investigates the explanatory value of this framework through an empirical
analysis of two contrasting cases of norm promotion by the Organization of Islamic
Conference at the United Nations. The first case considers the global diffusion of the
norm of dialogue of civilizations as an example of successful institutional translation. The
second case illustrates the failed diffusion of the norm against the defamation of religion
as an instance of unsuccessful institutional translation.
Keywords
Constructivism, diffusion, norms, post-secular, religion, translation
Corresponding author:
Filippo Dionigi, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London,
WC2A2AE, UK.
Email: f.dionigi1@lse.ac.uk
542663EJT0010.1177/1354066114542663European Journal of International RelationsBettiza and Dionigi
research-article2014
Article
622 European Journal of International Relations 21(3)
Introduction
Mainstream Constructivist scholarship on norm diffusion in International Relations (IR)
is marked by considerable Western-centrism.1 This bias is apparent in the overwhelming
focus of Constructivist research on the promotion of what are conventionally understood
to be ‘good’ global norms,2 by Western-based actors,3 in non-Western contexts.4 Norms
are generally presented as travelling from a Western core to a non-Western periphery,
from Western norm-makers to non-Western norm-takers.5 It is no surprise, then, that
Constructivist literature has been criticized over the years as suffering from a ‘liberal’
(Adamson, 2005), ‘cosmopolitan’ (Acharya, 2004) or ‘secular’ (Kubálková, 2003) bias,
which neglects non-Western normative agency.
Constructivism’s Western-centrism tends to overlook the fact that the international
sphere is replete with normative contestation.6 The international sphere is, in fact, inhab-
ited by a wide variety of non-Western actors and norm entrepreneurs that are not solely
norm-takers, but also active norm-makers, seeking to promote and internationalize their
own beliefs, values and principles. This normative competition and complexity is becom-
ing all the more apparent as world politics turns increasingly multipolar, as well as post-
Western (Acharya and Buzan, 2010; Kupchan, 2013; Tickner and Wæver, 2009; Weber
and Jentleson, 2010; Zakaria, 2011).
The process of contestation and interaction between Western and non-Western norms7
and their entrepreneurs in international society needs to be understood better. This article
seeks to theoretically and empirically broaden Constructivist research by looking beyond
the global diffusion of liberal and secular norms by Western-based actors. A small num-
ber of scholars are starting to explicitly push Constructivist thinking along similar lines
(Acharya, 2013; Adamson, 2005; Merry, 2006). We aim to advance this emerging schol-
arly research by exploring the processes through which non-Western actors promote
norms within the structures of the ‘liberal international order’ (Deudney and Ikenberry,
1999; Ikenberry, 2009). In other words, we flip the coin and investigate norm diffusion
from a non-Western periphery to a Western core, and by non-Western norm-makers to
Western norm-takers.
It is possible to think of several non-Western agents and norms that interact with the
actors and norms of the liberal order. We focus on religious-based norms promoted by
actors anchored to an Islamic tradition in the context of global governance institutions
such as the United Nations (UN). A focus on political Islam is warranted for a number of
reasons. We believe that what Fiona Adamson (2005: 565) pointed to as the ‘relative
silence’ in mainstream Constructivist research on political Islam still largely stands. This
neglect is also particularly egregious since concerns about the role of Islam and Islamists
of all strides have dominated international relations practices and debates for over a
decade.
The article contends that non-Western religious-based actors have the greatest oppor-
tunity to diffuse their norms within the institutions of the liberal international order when
their norms become intelligible from a secular, liberal, normative perspective through a
successful process of institutional translation. When using the concept of translation to
explore the dynamics of norm diffusion across different institutional and cultural
contexts — in particular, between a religious-Islamic and a secular-liberal context — we
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