Rogue States as Norm Entrepreneurs

Norm Research in International Relations Series Editor Antje Wiener, Institut für Politikwissenschaft, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany This book series offers an outlet for interdisciplinary research on norms in the context of international relations and global governance. It features scientific and scholarly studies which examine the way norms are created and re-created through interactions between actors at the international level, taking into account the reflexive nature of governance relationships and their impact on state behaviour through the re-constitution of norms. Norms in international relations are defined as ideas of varying degrees of abstraction and specification that concern fundamental values, organising principles or standardised procedures. They resonate across states and global actors in the form of official policies, laws, treaties and agreements, while their meaning may be stable or contested. Norm Research in International Relations (NRIR) welcomes proposals for research monographs, edited volumes and handbooks from a variety of disciplines that seek to advance theories and applied research in international relations and to arrive at a better understanding of the role and impact of norms. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, issues of international justice, research on contestation, human rights, international treaties in areas such as energy, environment or security, and constructivist norm research in international relations theory, recognition theory and international law. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15646 Carmen Wunderlich Rogue States as Norm Entrepreneurs Black Sheep or Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing? 123 Carmen Wunderlich Institute of Political Science University of Duisburg-Essen Duisburg, Germany ISSN 2522-8676 ISSN 2522-8684 (electronic) Norm Research in International Relations ISBN 978-3-030-27989-9 ISBN 978-3-030-27990-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27990-5 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Foreword This book is refreshing because its approach is counterintuitive. It looks at the despised group of international outlaws or “rogue states” as they are called with their US label from an unusual perspective: What do we see when the lens through which we look presents the “rogue” as a norm entrepreneur that aims not at chaos and disorder, but at a different form of order (maybe one which we would like distinctly, but order anyway). This approach (that must by no means be confused with propagating sympathy with the “rogue”) aims at an enhancement of the debate on norms in the study of international relations. Taking a critical view at the partially silent, partially open ethical basis of most norm research (norms are “good,” and norm entrepreneurs must be “good guys”), she proposes to look at “rogues” as “norm revisionists.” Based on a careful and meticulous research design and much empirical effort, the book investigates whether Iran behaves like a norm entrepreneur of sorts. Thus, it tackles a “hard case,” looking at the archetype of a US-designated “rogue” for forty years, which is fully back in this role those days after a brief interim thaw between 2015—when the nuclear agreement was adopted —and the start of the Trump presidency. Based on her solid empirical work, she answers her research question in a quite surprising manner: Yes, Iran acts in many respects like a norm entrepreneur, and the Islamic Republic does not even site at the most radical wing of oppositional norm entrepreneurship. Rather, it ranges between the type “reformer” and “revolutionary.” Our knowledge about norms and norm entrepreneurs in international relations has been considerably enriched by this study. Moreover, Carmen Wunderlich develops operational criteria for indicating “norm entrepreneurship,” a typology of modes of behavior toward norms, and an operational distinction between “reformist” and “revolutionary” norm entrepreneurs that are of great utility as instruments for future empirical norm research. The book contains many details worth to be known about one of the most disputed and at the same time most active members of the world of states, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The author deals with this tricky subject with a sovereign neutrality, but never uncritically, observing a reasonable distance between herself v vi Foreword and the object of her study. This makes her results and the knowledge she transfers on her readers all the more reliable. Carmen Wunderlich is one of the rising younger members of Germany’s International Relations community and already well established in the international research community dealing with norms at the conceptual–theoretical and the proliferation of mass destruction weapons at the empirical and political level. Her first monography in English language, based on her Ph.D. thesis, makes a significant contribution, theoretically, empirically, and for political–practical purposes. Frankfurt, Germany Harald Müller Acknowledgements Writing a book is always a challenge, and translating and updating it are even more so. I was blissfully unaware of this, when Antje Wiener encouraged me to publish an English version of my dissertation in her promising series “Norm Research in International Relations,” published with Springer International. In fact, I felt flattered that she perceived my argument to hold innovative strength and I thought this a good opportunity to present it in all its details to an English-speaking audience. This book is the revised version of my dissertation that has been published in German in 2017. I am grateful to Springer VS for granting the English translation rights. Along the journey of writing the dissertation, turning it into a book and working out an English translation, I was lucky to having received the support of several individuals and institutions. It is thanks to Tanja Brühl that I got introduced into the research on norm dynamics during my studies in Frankfurt, and it was Harald Müller who led me the way into academia. Harald was to become not only my mentor, sharing his time and wisdom and opening up invaluable networks, but also one of my dissertation supervisors. To the other, Nicole Deitelhoff, I owe no less gratitude for it was her encouragement and support that guided me through the last, troublesome meters. While working on my Ph.D. thesis, I have benefitted from the generosity of several institutions that provided institutional and financial support, and of colleagues who shared their critical thoughts and offered helpful comments on drafts. The Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) was to become my intellectual breeding ground that sparked my scientific interest in counterintuitive and unorthodox questions related to the research on global norm dynamics and norms pertaining to the control of weapons of mass destruction. The project group on “international dissidence” made it possible to further act out my liking for analyzing global troublemakers, and in this context I benefitted enormously from the intellectual charisma of Klaus-Dieter Wolf. Numerous other colleagues at PRIF were a vii viii Acknowledgements source of great support, be it through providing invaluable comments to drafts of the manuscripts, sharing the “sorrows” of a Ph.D. student’s life or by becoming dear friends over the years. In addition, I was fortunate to having had the opportunity to further expand my academic focus through research stays at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) in 2012 and the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) in 2014. The Anna Lindh Library at the Swedish National Defense College and the Swedish Government Offices archive provided temporary shelter (and scanning devices!) during field research in Sweden. Numerous interview partners and witnesses of the past were willing to share their knowledge and memories, thus enabling me to validate and assess the information obtained through “mere” documentary analysis. I am most thankful for their support. In January 2018, I joined the Peace Research Center Prague and profited enormously from the vibrant intellectual environment and interdisciplinary focus of the participating scholars. I am indebted to Charles University Research Centre program UNCE/HUM/028 (Peace Research Center Prague/Faculty of Social Sciences) for providing me with financial support. During the time I worked on my thesis, I was given the chance to present parts of this work at various conferences. I am grateful for the helpful comments I received at these events and during personal conversations with colleagues. Besides those that have already been mentioned, these include Evgeniya Bakalova, Ann-Kristin Beinlich, Alan Bloomfield, Clifford Bob, Lyndon Burford, Marco Fey, Sassan Gholiagha, Regina Heller, Stefanie Herr, Andreas Jacobs, Konstanze Jüngling, Gregor Hofmann, Jeffrey S. Lantis, Daniel Müller, Michal Onderco, Carsten Rauch, Scott Sagan, Richard Price, Maria Rost Rublee, Michal Smetana, Elena Sokova, Nikolai Sokov, Nina Tannenwald, Alexandros Tokhi, Wolfgang Wagner, Irene Weipert-Fenner, Rachel Whitlark, Antje Wiener, Simone Wisotzki, members of the DVPW Thematic Group “Norms in International Relations,” and the members of PRIF’s colloquium of doctoral students. Katharina Hemming, Hiwa Rostami, Steffen Schiklenk, Matthias Schulze, and Manjana Sold provided valuable research assistance. For invaluable, interdisciplinary mental support, I would like to thank my SciMento group, Simone Claar, Melanie Sachs, Claudia Schreider, and Ursula Birsl. Without the meticulous work and tireless effort of Nadine Benedix, this book would never have taken shape. I am much obliged to her for her support in translating and editing the final manuscript. My thanks also go to Anna Güttel-Bellert for language editing the whole manuscript and for providing words of encouragement and support. Finally, I owe special thanks to Johannes Glaeser, Publishing Editor from Springer-Verlag, for his unwavering patience and assistance in publishing this book. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends: my parents and my sister for their unswerving belief in me, my husband Florian for his unwavering support and for keeping me sane, and my son Joshua for taming my perfectionism and involving me in welcome distractions. Acknowledgements ix While numerous people have been involved in the writing of this book, any remaining errors are, of course, my own responsibility. Bonn, Germany May 2019 Carmen Wunderlich Contents 1 Introduction: Norm Breakers as Norm Makers? . . . . . . . 1.1 The Argument: “Rogue States” as Norm Entrepreneurs . 1.2 Terms and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Research Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Outline of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 5 6 8 10 2 Dedicated to the Good: Norm Entrepreneurs in International Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Conceptualizing International Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 A Brief Overview of Norms Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Norm Entrepreneurs: Definition and Genesis of a Concept . . . . 2.4 Types of Norm Entrepreneurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 Motives for Norm Entrepreneurial Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 Objectives and Stages of Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.1 First Phase: Norm Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.2 Phase 2 and 3: Consolidation and Further Development . 2.7 The Norm Entrepreneurial Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.8 Conditions for “Successful” Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . 2.9 A Bias Toward “Feel-Good” Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 16 18 21 24 28 30 31 33 34 39 42 45 .. .. .. 57 57 63 .. .. 64 67 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Against the Norms of International Society: Rogues, Outlaws, and Pariahs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 “Rogue States” as a Construct of American Security Policy . . . 3.2 The Scholarly Discourse on “Rogue States” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 On the Relationship Between “Rogue States” and International Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi xii Contents 4 The Ugly? Rogue States as Norm Entrepreneurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Research on Unconventional Norm Entrepreneurs and Resistance to Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 Shift of Perspective: “Rogue States”—Norm Breakers or Norm Makers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 71 .. 72 .. .. 76 77 .... .... 81 82 . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 83 84 86 88 88 .... 91 .... .... .... 92 93 98 5 Researching and Operationalizing Prototypical and Unconventional Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Case Selection and Analytical Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 “Rogue States” as Least-Likely Candidate for Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 A Multilevel Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3 Period of Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.4 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Definitions and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Prototypical Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.2 Alternative Explanations: “Rogue States” as Norm Breaker or Advocates of Subsidiary Norms . . . . . . . . 5.2.3 Norms Pertaining to the Control of Weapons of Mass Destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Process Tracing and Content Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Iran and the International Community: A Counter-Hegemonic Norm Breaker? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Basic Tenets of Iran’s Political System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 From “Gendarme of the Gulf” to the Center of the “Axis of Evil” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.1 Iran During the Shah’s Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.2 The Early Years of the Islamic Republic of Iran 1979–1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.3 Iran’s Turn to Pragmatism Under Rafsanjani 1989–1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.4 Reform Efforts Under Khatami, 1997–2005 . . . . . . . . 6.2.5 Conservative Backslash Under Ahmadinejad 2005–2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.6 New Winds of Reform with the Entry into Office of Rouhani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Foreign Policy Identity and the Role of Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Iran’s Vision of World Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 . . . . 102 . . . . 104 . . . . 105 . . . . 106 . . . . 107 . . . . 108 . . . . 109 . . . . 110 . . . . 111 . . . . 114 Contents 6.4.1 The Prevailing World Order as the “Order of Domination” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.2 Iran’s Self-stylization as the Anti-imperialist Spearhead of the Third World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.3 Elements of an Iranian World Order Vision . . . . . . . . 6.4.4 Means to an End: Export of the Revolution in Words and Deeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 The “Rogue State” in the Dock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5.1 Support for International Terrorism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5.2 Iran’s Quest for Weapons of Mass Destruction . . . . . . 6.5.3 Territorial Aggression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5.4 Autocratic Character/Human Rights Violations . . . . . . 6.6 Preliminary Conclusion: Stay or Go? Iran’s Position Within the Current World Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii . . . 114 . . . 118 . . . 120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 127 128 129 130 130 . . . 131 . . . 134 7 Iran as a Norm Entrepreneur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Basic Principles of Iranian Arms Control Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Iran’s Support for Victims of Chemical Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.1 Background: Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.2 Raising Public Awareness Through Normative Framing and Practical Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.3 Strengthening Article X Through Institutionalization . . . 7.2.4 Practical Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.5 Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 Iran’s Commitment to Nuclear Disarmament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.1 Background: The Norm of Nuclear Disarmament in the Context of the NPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.2 Iran’s Normative Framing: Nuclear Disarmament as Humanitarian Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.3 Iranian Support for Measures Aimed at Facilitating Nuclear Disarmament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.4 Naming, Blaming, and Shaming of the Nuclear Weapon States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.5 Practical Activities in Support of Nuclear Disarmament . 7.3.6 Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Iran’s Advocacy for a Right to Uranium Enrichment . . . . . . . . 7.4.1 Background: The Controversy Over the “Inalienable Right to the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” . . . . . . . 7.4.2 Iran’s Narrative of “Nuclear Rights” in the Context of Its Nuclear Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4.3 Normative Framing at the International Level . . . . . . . . . . 139 . . 139 . . 142 . . 143 . . . . . . . . . . 144 149 152 155 160 . . 160 . . 164 . . 165 . . . . . . . . 167 171 173 174 . . 176 . . 179 . . 185 xiv Contents 7.4.4 Blaming and Shaming . . . . 7.4.5 Practical Activities . . . . . . . 7.4.6 Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 Strategies and Resources of Iranian References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... ................... ................... Norm Entrepreneurship . ................... . . . . . . . . . . 8 Comparing Prototypical and Unorthodox Norm Advocacy . . . . . . 8.1 Recap: Applying the Norm Entrepreneurial Label to Iran . . . . . 8.2 “Good Cop, Bad Cop”: Comparing Sweden and Iran . . . . . . . . 8.2.1 Sweden’s Commitment to Nuclear Disarmament and Effective Verification: Normative Demands and Practical Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.2 Strategies, Resources, and Practical Activities of Swedish Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.3 Comparing Iranian and Swedish Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 “Rogue’n Roll”: Comparing North Korea and Iran . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.1 North Korea as Outcast of the International Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.2 Background: The Conflict Surrounding North Korea’s Nuclear Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.3 North Korea’s Arms Control Diplomacy: Lip Service and Self-centeredness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.4 North Korea’s Attitude to International Norms: Between Rejection, Non-compliance, and Non-conformity . . . . . . 8.3.5 Contrasting North Korea and Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Conclusion: Revisiting Norm Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1 Conceptual Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.1 “Only” Commitment or Fully Fledged Norm Entrepreneurship? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.2 Multiple Roles and Contexts of Norm Entrepreneurship . 9.1.3 Genuine Advocacy Versus Interest-Based Rhetorical Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.4 Reformist and Revolutionary Norm Entrepreneurship . . . 9.2 The Practical Consequences of Dealing with Alleged “Rogue States” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3 Avenues for Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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