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Communication dans un congrès Année : 2009

Practical Norms, not Ethics: Social Sanction and the Everyday in UN Conflict Management

Résumé

This paper intends to criticize the use of the concept of "norm" in many IR works dealing with
international interventionism in overseas armed conflicts and mass violence. Referring to the
sociology of the everyday practice, it proposes the intertwined notions of practical norm and social
sanction. This dimension of the everyday highlights three dimensions of norms: 1. Norms should be
understood as collective expectations that do not always need to be verbally formulated and
rationalized; 2. these practical collective expectations exist as long as they are socially sanctioned, but
these social sanctions do not need to be constantly supported by ideas of what is 'good' or 'just', by
ethical beliefs; 3. these social sanctions affect the resources of political actors as they concern the
reproduction (positive sanction) or the disappearance (negative sanction) of others' behaviors. The
concept of practical norm is tested with international "conflict managers" within the UN. It brings to
focus on the necessities and urgencies - or lacks of urgency - the diplomatic decision-makers and the
UN officials perceive in their everyday work within their own political and bureaucratic environments.
A discussion on Brent Steele's analysis of "ontological security" and the case of Darfur (since 2003)
supports my claim.
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Dates et versions

halshs-00401734, version 1 (05-07-2009)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : halshs-00401734 , version 1

Citer

David Ambrosetti. Practical Norms, not Ethics: Social Sanction and the Everyday in UN Conflict Management. International Studies Association Annual Convention 2009, Feb 2009, New York, United States. ⟨halshs-00401734⟩
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