What’s in a name? Contestation and backlash against international norms and institutions
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148120945906 |
| Published date | 01 November 2020 |
| Date | 01 November 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Symposium on Backlash Politics in Comparison |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148120945906
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2020, Vol. 22(4) 715 –727
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1369148120945906
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What’s in a name?
Contestation and backlash
against international norms
and institutions
Nicole Deitelhoff
Abstract
Norm research has struggled to leave behind its liberal progressive perspective on norms. It
has turned its attention towards contestation and norms erosion. Still, in a number of studies
contestation is not merely an analytic concept but a normative concept as well, describing a
problematic development of norms. Plainly, contestation is often seen as a form of political backlash.
This is problematic because the bulk of normative change proceeds in the form of contestation,
so we need to be able to distinguish the two. Studying the recurring and radicalising contestation
of the International Criminal Court, this article demonstrates the intimate relationship between
contestation and backlash. It argues that while backlash might be fruitfully applied to the study of
norm contestation, its added value for norms research is linked to the normative connotation of
regressive politics, that is, a ‘thick’ concept of backlash.
Keywords
backlash, international criminal court, international law, international norms, international
relations, norm contestation, normative change, norms research
Introduction
Backlash is one of the buzzwords in present-day politics, reflecting a diffuse sense of
crisis in liberal political systems and the international system of governance alike. The
sense of crisis is fuelled by diverse and extensive attacks against norms and institutions
within these systems and the rise of antiliberal movements within and across many socie-
ties. The close linkage to liberal norms and institutions, however, circumscribes the prop-
erty space of the concept of backlash, limiting it to a signifier for regressive politics that
aims at undoing normative progress.
This popular understanding of backlash resembles a long-standing perspective on con-
testation in norms research. In this perspective, contestation is not merely an analytic
Research Department: International Institutions, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Corresponding author:
Nicole Deitelhoff, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Baseler Straße 27-31, Frankfurt am Main 60329,
Germany.
Email: deitelhoff@hsfk.de
945906BPI0010.1177/1369148120945906The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsDeitelho
research-article2020
Special Issue Article
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