Clear changes occurred in the field of conventional arms control in the last two decades. States adopted a multitude of norms on especially small arms control in various multilateral control instruments. In addition, non-governmental advocacy actors often established themselves as active participants in control debates with governments. The changes are surprising because they took place in the security sphere and therewith in an area traditionally understood to be the exclusive domain of governments. This research project investigates the significance of the changes for the traditional understanding of security governance. Specifically, it investigates the emergence of control norms and the role and policy impact of non-governmental actors in the promotion of the norms. It asks whether the normative changes and significance of nongovernmental actors therein challenge the understanding of security governance that underpins many established approaches to international relations theory.

This thesis focuses on the analysis of a possible formation of the EU disinformation policy by norm entrepreneurs including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, France and Germany. The work is based on the theory of social constructivism and the concept of norms. Through the analytical framework of the norm life cycle, it seeks to find out how the disinformation policy can be integrated into the EU by norm entrepreneurs, and what normative clashes can be found in the process of the birth of the disinformation policy of the EU. A possible formation of the EU disinformation policy is analysed through three stages of the norm life cycle - norm emergence, norm cascade and norm internalisation. In the norm emergence part, the Baltic states with France and Germany are examined in terms of their motivation and efforts to promote a disinformation-related norm. The norm cascade part discusses a normative clash of a regulation norm and the norm of freedom of expression. Lastly, the norm internalisation part analyses the challenges of the incorporation of the norm in the system once the previous stages are accomplished. The research has shown that even though a common regulation norm of the EU is inevitable, the EU should introduce a cooperative mechanism of its member states and private actors to prevent clash with...

Clear changes occurred in the field of conventional arms control in the last two decades. States adopted a multitude of norms on especially small arms control in various multilateral control instruments. In addition, non-governmental advocacy actors often established themselves as active participants in control debates with governments. The changes are surprising because they took place in the security sphere and therewith in an area traditionally understood to be the exclusive domain of governments. This research project investigates the significance of the changes for the traditional understanding of security governance. Specifically, it investigates the emergence of control norms and the role and policy impact of non-governmental actors in the promotion of the norms. It asks whether the normative changes and significance of nongovernmental actors therein challenge the understanding of security governance that underpins many established approaches to international relations theory.

This research provides a novel outlook on the emergence of norms in world politics. Guided by a constructivist theoretical framework and a process tracing methodology, it tests Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink's pioneering life cycle model of norms (1998) with an unexplored case study. By investigating the processes that led to the legally binding Plastic Waste Amendments of the Basel Convention, it evaluates the model’s main mechanisms and studies the question of ‘How can we explain the emergence of a norm on plastic pollution within the scope of the Basel Convention?’ To do so, it combines an in-depth analysis of the international relations literature, official reports, and carefully selected interviews with actors involved in the global governance of plastic and the World Ocean. This research shows that co-construction processes between ideas, agents, and structures are at play in the emergence of norms. It offers a detailed understanding of the processes of norm emergence in world politics, original insights for the global governance of plastic pollution in the World Ocean, and opportunities to answer the challenges brought by transnational environmental issues. The findings of this research will likely be of particular interest for global environmental governance scholars and to those looking for pathways to foster global cooperation. / Cette recherche offre une perspective nouvelle sur l’émergence des normes en politique mondiale. Guidé par un cadre théorique constructiviste et une méthodologie basée sur le traçage des processus, elle teste le modèle de cycle de vie des normes de Martha Finnemore et Kathryn Sikkink (1998) par l’entremise d’une étude de cas inexplorée. En étudiant les processus qui ont menés aux amendements juridiquement contraignants sur les déchets de plastique de la Convention de Bâle, elle évalue les principaux mécanismes du modèle de cycle de vie des normes et étudie la question suivante : « Comment expliquer l’émergence d’une norme sur la pollution des plastiques dans le cadre de la Convention de Bâle ? ». Pour ce faire, cette étude combine une analyse approfondie de la littérature des relations internationales, des rapports officiels et des entretiens soigneusement sélectionnés avec des acteurs œuvrant dans la gouvernance globale du plastique et de l'océan mondial. Cette recherche montre que des processus de co-construction entre idées, agents et structures contribuent à l'émergence des normes. Cette recherche offre une compréhension détaillée des processus d'émergence des normes en politique mondiale; des perspectives originales pour la gouvernance globale de la pollution plastique dans l'océan mondial; et des opportunités pour relever les défis posés par les enjeux environnementaux transnationaux. Les résultats de cette recherche seront probablement d’intérêt pour les spécialistes de la gouvernance environnementale globale et pour ceux qui cherchent des moyens pour renforcir la coopération mondiale.