Models, gaps and blind spots

Issue 24: 1 of the International Studies Review contains two PRIF-related articles: Building on the PRIF workshop on "Norms and Other Norms" in November 2019, Jeffrey S. Lantis and Carmen Wunderlich present a new three-dimensional model of constructivist norm theory in "Reevaluating Constructivist Norm Theory: A Three-Dimensional Norms Research Program". Anton Peez analyses the study of international norms from a social constructivist perspective over the last 40 years in his paper "Contributions and Blind Spots of Constructivist Norms Research in International Relations, 1980-2018: A Systematic Evidence and Gap Analysis".

Lantis and Wunderlich use their model to emphasise the spatial dimensions of norm meaning, legitimacy and impact. The international reactions to the Syrian civil war since 2011 serve as an example here. Based on the three-dimensional framework presented, the authors are able to identify promising research approaches. Carmen Wunderlich was a research associate at PRIF from 2008 to 2016 and an associate researcher until 2019. Since 2018, she has been a temporary academic advisor at the University of Duisburg-Essen. One of her research interests is global norm dynamics.

Global dynamics of IR also play a role in the second contribution: How have international norms been researched between 1980 and 2018 in terms of content and methodology, what are the most important contributions and blind spots, and what possibilities for future innovations might exist? asks Anton Peez, who has been PhD student at the PRIF's programme area "International Institutions" since 2018 and research associate at the PRIF Berlin office since 2019. He identifies the study of international norms from a social constructivist perspective as one of the most important conceptual innovations in the discipline of International Relations (IR). With the help of a comprehensive data set analysis, underlying research trends, desiderata and points of contact are made visible. The paper thus simultaneously offers a case study on the diffusion and innovation of concepts in International Relations.

Both articles are available online.