Norm Trouble: Or, Backlash Against What?

There is no doubt that there is transnational opposition to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Observers tend to agree that what is being attacked is a norm or set of norms. In this chapter, we argue that the norm perspective is unhelpful by working through four ‘misadventures’. First, WPS has always been un- and under-implemented. Second, norm language tends towards an idea of diffusion and localization, which needs rethinking in light of postcolonial critiques. Third, a standard response to these problems—‘norm contestation’—only exacerbates the indistinctness of norms. Finally, an alternative view of norms as an ethical horizon lacks the explanatory power of early constructivism, but is potentially more suited to the ‘policy ecology’ approach we favour.