International Policymaking: The Case of the Norm of the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:     
The norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has received increasing international attention in the last few years. In summary R2P refers to a concept that arose in the late 1990s in Canada which emphasizes the responsibility that governments and the international community have to protect their population. Thus, it is a concept that attempts to redefine sovereignty from its traditional basis on rights to one based on duties and responsibilities. The importance of the R2P as a concept is that it is an attempt to shape global governance at the highest level. Therefore, it is an example of policymaking at the global level and serves as a good case study on how a concept arises, can be transformed into a norm, and ultimately is institutionalized in international law. There is a final step which involves the operationalization of the norm and this is the stage in which R2P can be found at the moment.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: International Policymaking, International Responsibility, Responsibility to Protect

JEL Classification: F59, H56

Accepted Paper Series