Reconciliation as a norm diffusion mechanism: the case of Japan and human security

How do global actors initiate and respond to normative development? Constructivist scholars have identified and investigated mechanisms such as persuasion and contestation that actors utilize to engage in the process of norm diffusion. These mechanisms assume that a single norm will ultimately prevail over its competing norms. In this article, we propose an alternative mechanism, reconciliation, which is employed by norm entrepreneurs to bridge and integrate existing conflicting norms under a key phrase that is subsequently promoted as a new norm. This mechanism of reconciliation also accelerates a change in boundaries among conflicting norms without destroying those existing norms. We illustrate our argument by examining a case of norm diffusion through reconciliation, namely Japan’s efforts to spread the norm of human security in the United Nations. The primary contribution of this article is to develop a theoretical mechanism of norm reconciliation by which norm entrepreneurs promote new norms in the international community. Empirically, we present a picture of Japan’s proactive and strategic style as a so-called middle power in fostering a global consensus. Beyond this case, the mechanism of reconciliation has the potential to explain general phenomena under the current regime complexes in which multiple competing norms coexist.