interests, but also to their own values. The position of a state on a given norm
will be based on the ruling group’s determination about the impact of the norm
on its own internal political situation.
20
Human rights norms are more likely to
be adopted and championed by liberal states, because they accord with domestic
values. In particular, new democracies are likely to adopt human rights norms to
shore up the legitimacy and power of a new ruling class.
21
By comparison,
entrenched democracies will resist infringements on their autonomy, unless
political advantage can be gained from supporting unenforceable norms.
22
Proponents of rationalist or regime theory posit that states will act in com-
pliance with international regimes, made up of collectively agreed rules, norms,
and principles, even when it is contrary to their “myopic self-interests,” in order
to further their long-term interests in certainty, order, and maintaining their rep-
utations with other states as dependable partners, as well as in facilitating
collective action.
23
Human rights norms, however, unlike norms or regimes
having to do with trade, military intervention, environment, or resource usage,
have little inherent benefit for self-interested states.
Alternatively, constructivists such as Friedrich Kratochwil, Martha
Finnemore, Kathryn Sikkink, and Hans Schmitz argue that norms have
independent weight in international relations, and draw strength from their
intrinsic quality of “appropriateness.”
24
Most important, the acceptance of norms
helps to shape the identity of states (and other actors) and therefore their behav-
ior.
25
Nations want a reputation of principled behavior, which generates a “virtu-
ous circle” that can establish more inclusive notions of identity, and alter state
behavior.
26
There is a mutually constitutive relationship between states, inter-
national structure, and norms.
27
There is a similar tension in the debate among international legal scholars and
legal institutions about the function of norms. Early figures in international legal
thought, such as Hugo Grotius, identified two bases for international law:
consent of states, and “natural law” based on biblical prescription.
28
Thus, reli-
gious norms directly justified certain rules of law. Since the Renaissance,
however, “natural law” had fallen out of favor, although it continued to play a
role in international law and legal theory up to the late eighteenth century.
Positivism assumed the dominant position in the nineteenth century as the prin-
cipal basis for international law.
29
For positivists, the primary constitutive force
of law is the consent of states to be bound by it.
30
Like the realists, they hold that
the international scene is anarchical, at least in its natural state, where states are
free to act in their own interests. However, states can and do create islands of
order within the chaos through agreements with each other. This may be by way
of express agreement (i.e. treaty), or through implied agreement (i.e. customary
law). Whether the resulting rules derive from “norms” in the sense of ethically
required standards of behavior, or from mere cooperative self-interest, is irrele-
vant for the legal analysis.
31
This view was widely shared by legal scholars and
legal institutions alike.
The rise of human rights since World War II, however, has shaken assump-
FRANCIS M. DENG
144