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Assessing the complex evolution of norms: The rise of international election monitoring

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kelley, J
Published in: International Organization
April 1, 2008

Given that states have long considered elections a purely domestic matter, the dramatic growth of international election monitoring in the 1990s was remarkable. Why did states allow international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to interfere and why did international election monitoring spread so quickly? Why did election monitoring become institutionalized in so many organizations? Perhaps most puzzling, why do countries invite monitors and nevertheless cheat? This article develops a rigorous method for investigating the causal mechanisms underlying the rise of election monitoring, and "norm cascades" more generally. The evolution and spread of norms, as with many other social processes, are complex combinations of normative, instrumental, and other constraints and causes of action. The rise of election monitoring has been driven by an interaction of instrumentalism, emergent norms, and fundamental power shifts in the international system. By dissecting this larger theoretical complexity into specific subclaims that can be empirically investigated, this article examines the role of each of these causal factors, their mutual tensions, and their interactive contributions to the evolution of election monitoring. © 2008 by The IO Foundation.

Duke Scholars

Published In

International Organization

DOI

EISSN

1531-5088

ISSN

0020-8183

Publication Date

April 1, 2008

Volume

62

Issue

2

Start / End Page

221 / 255

Related Subject Headings

  • International Relations
  • 4408 Political science
  • 4404 Development studies
  • 1606 Political Science
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Kelley, J. (2008). Assessing the complex evolution of norms: The rise of international election monitoring. International Organization, 62(2), 221–255. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818308080089
Kelley, J. “Assessing the complex evolution of norms: The rise of international election monitoring.” International Organization 62, no. 2 (April 1, 2008): 221–55. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818308080089.
Kelley J. Assessing the complex evolution of norms: The rise of international election monitoring. International Organization. 2008 Apr 1;62(2):221–55.
Kelley, J. “Assessing the complex evolution of norms: The rise of international election monitoring.” International Organization, vol. 62, no. 2, Apr. 2008, pp. 221–55. Scopus, doi:10.1017/S0020818308080089.
Kelley J. Assessing the complex evolution of norms: The rise of international election monitoring. International Organization. 2008 Apr 1;62(2):221–255.
Journal cover image

Published In

International Organization

DOI

EISSN

1531-5088

ISSN

0020-8183

Publication Date

April 1, 2008

Volume

62

Issue

2

Start / End Page

221 / 255

Related Subject Headings

  • International Relations
  • 4408 Political science
  • 4404 Development studies
  • 1606 Political Science