International Norm Disputes The Link between Contestation and Norm Robustness

International Norm Disputes: The Link between Contestation and Norm Robustness offers a rich, comparative study of when and why contested international norms decline. It presents central findings on the link between contestation and norm robustness based on four detailed, contemporary case studies - the torture prohibition, the responsibility to protect, the moratorium on commercial whaling, and the duty to prosecute institutionalized in the International Criminal Court. It also includes two historical case studies - privateering and the transatlantic slave trade.

This book provides in-depth knowledge on contestation and robustness dynamics of central international norms. Having meticulously collected relevant data and conducted extensive qualitative coding, the authors demonstrate that norms are likely to weaken when challengers contest the validity of a norm's core claims but remain robust when they contest a norm's application and contestation does not become permanent.

These important findings, comparatively presented here for the first time, are crucial for understanding the much-discussed problems of the contemporary liberal international order. The insights provided establish how different types of challenges will affect global governance mechanisms and which conditions are most likely to create fundamental change.

Lisbeth Zimmermann, Professor for International Institutions and Peace Processes, Goethe University Frankfurt,Nicole Deitelhoff, Chair of International Relations and Theories of Global Order, Goethe University Frankfurt,Max Lesch, Postdoctoral Researcher, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt,Antonio Arcudi, Associate Fellow, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt,Anton Peez, Doctoral Researcher, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Lisbeth Zimmermann holds the Chair of International Institutions and Peace Processes, at Goethe University Frankfurt. Her main research interests are the challenges to international norms and international organizations, as well as the dynamics of expertise.


Nicole Deitelhoff is Director of the Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) and holds the Chair of International Relations and Theories of Global Order at Goethe University Frankfurt. Her research focuses on conflicts around international institutions, and norms and forms of political rule and its legitimation beyond the nation state. She is currently researching conflict and social cohesion.

Max Lesch is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF). His research focuses on contestation and deviance in international norm dynamics, with a focus on human rights and international peace and security law, and the epistemic authority of international fact-finding missions.


Antonio Arcudi is an Associate Fellow at the Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) and a PhD candidate at Goethe University Frankfurt. His research focuses on international norms, with a focus on the responsibility to protect, and the International Criminal Court.

Anton Peez is a Doctoral Researcher at the Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) and a PhD Candidate at Goethe University Frankfurt. His research interests include economic sanctions, norms in international politics, and empirical social science research methods.