What were the socio-economic, political, and institutional factors influencing the construction of the Arms Trade Treaty?

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Westbrook, T, 2016. What were the socio-economic, political, and institutional factors influencing the construction of the Arms Trade Treaty? PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Critiquing Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink's life-cycle hypotheses, this project tries to understand the socio-economic, political and institutional factors that influenced the construction of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). It addresses restless debates about the role of institutions in shaping behaviour, particularly in the context of unequal power distributions under United Nations (UN) voting rules. It questions what states had to gain from the Treaty, how power was exercised under consensus, and how this related to identity and norm formation. It also addresses ongoing debates about the power and influence of NGOs in international relations, questioning the extent at which NGOs were influential in the construction of the ATT despite restrictive access, and whether this alters or maintains the view of their influence in academia. It further questions the lengths at which institutionalised norms affect state preferences, particularly where economic, political and security factors are at stake. A number quantitative and qualitative sources are used to understand how rationality and legitimacy arguments are applicable to states promotion and opposition to ATT provisions, and questions how state preferences are influenced through peer pressure and esteem. The thesis concludes that regional groups have significant power in formulating the preferences of its member states. Challenging mainstream arguments made by constructivists, it also questions the extent at which states are 'socialised' or persuaded to support norms. Additionally, despite restricted access, and challenging aspects of the theory, NGOs were able to influence the agenda at the norm emergence and negotiation stages. It also clarifies areas where Finnemore and Sikkink's hypothesis is lacking or oversimplified, particularly 'tipping points' stages, in state socialisation, and where institutional factors, rather than purely social, were major element contributing to in the Treaty's construction.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Westbrook, T.
Date:	November 2016
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	04 Sep 2017 10:07
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2017 10:07
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/31532