This thesis documents the development of the Chinese government??s response to HIV/AIDS in the context of the global AIDS regime in order to assess when, how and to what extent international AIDS norms have had an impact upon China??s governance of AIDS. Employing an applied constructivist framework, the thesis argues that the impact of global norms at the domestic level has been contingent on a) the socializing actions of norm entrepreneurs, b) the domestic political context and c) crisis. In the case of China and the impact of global AIDS norms, the central argument is that key elements of China??s domestic political context minimized the socializing affects of the global AIDS regime until the SARS crisis in 2003 led to a reappraisal of AIDS in the context of political legitimacy, at which time global AIDS norms began to have increasing salience in China. This thesis begins by identifying the evolution of a global AIDS regime before moving on to an exploration of China??s domestic political context. The thesis then documents and analyses China??s governance of AIDS from 1985 to 2007 through the use of five indicators ?? political commitment, legislation and policy, representation of AIDS in the media, the participation of civil society, and international engagement. The findings demonstrate that there has been a significant change between China??s pre-SARS and post-SARS AIDS governance with China acting increasingly in accordance with global norms following the SARS crisis of 2003. The thesis proposes that the SARS crisis was catalytic in that it exposed the vulnerability of the Chinese government??s claims to legitimacy, and in so doing, enabled the domestic political context to shift, allowing health, and by extension AIDS, to be reframed as a political issue. Importantly however, when the Chinese government scaled up its response to the epidemic it was able to be guided by the normative framework prescribed by the global AIDS regime.

This thesis documents the development of the Chinese government??s response to HIV/AIDS in the context of the global AIDS regime in order to assess when, how and to what extent international AIDS norms have had an impact upon China??s governance of AIDS. Employing an applied constructivist framework, the thesis argues that the impact of global norms at the domestic level has been contingent on a) the socializing actions of norm entrepreneurs, b) the domestic political context and c) crisis. In the case of China and the impact of global AIDS norms, the central argument is that key elements of China??s domestic political context minimized the socializing affects of the global AIDS regime until the SARS crisis in 2003 led to a reappraisal of AIDS in the context of political legitimacy, at which time global AIDS norms began to have increasing salience in China. This thesis begins by identifying the evolution of a global AIDS regime before moving on to an exploration of China??s domestic political context. The thesis then documents and analyses China??s governance of AIDS from 1985 to 2007 through the use of five indicators ?? political commitment, legislation and policy, representation of AIDS in the media, the participation of civil society, and international engagement. The findings demonstrate that there has been a significant change between China??s pre-SARS and post-SARS AIDS governance with China acting increasingly in accordance with global norms following the SARS crisis of 2003. The thesis proposes that the SARS crisis was catalytic in that it exposed the vulnerability of the Chinese government??s claims to legitimacy, and in so doing, enabled the domestic political context to shift, allowing health, and by extension AIDS, to be reframed as a political issue. Importantly however, when the Chinese government scaled up its response to the epidemic it was able to be guided by the normative framework prescribed by the global AIDS regime.

This thesis argues that contemporary climate justice actions can present a case for how social movements and activists engage as norm entrepreneurs with global politics. Following a case-based approach (McKee, 2003) and combining perspectives of political science with anthropology, theoretical concepts of everyday utopias (Cooper, 2014) and prefiguration (Maeckelbergh, 2011b; 2014) are applied to the case of a village occupation in Germany against a lignite coal mine expansion. It presents a relevant case for global politics as the local protest is transnationally networking with other protest and activist groups. In creating an alternative social and political system in their everyday life, the activists challenge norms of democratic participation, decision-making and beyond. By using prefiguration as a strategic tool, the protest proliferates change beyond the occupation. Through social and public media, the activists participate in the public debate, sharing their narrative and demands, thereby aiming to affect the public discourse and create change.