| The thesis examines the treatment of cultural difference in theories of compliance with international law, and shows how diversity is often overlooked in the study of state behaviour. The study of norm compliance in both international law (IL) and international relations (IR) disciplines proceeds as an empirical project from which policy prescriptions are drawn, while many fundamental questions remain unexplored: What is the nature of the change that local cultures are undergoing in a globalized world and what role does (or should) international law play in this process? What is the feasible (and the desired) degree of social cohesion in a culturally diverse "global community"? What is the nature of the interaction between the social (both state and non-state) actors involved?; The answers to these questions, while often not considered or contemplated, always underlie theories of compliance in both IL and IR literatures. The thesis explains why the answers to these questions are crucial for developing a coherent theory of compliance with international law, and begins to outline a conceptual roadmap for exploring them.; The discussion begins by showing why views of cultures as either inescapably separate or manifestly converging are deeply problematic and advances a conception that appreciates the inevitable hybridity of cultural formations in the age of globalization. The thesis then provides a critical assessment of the empirical and the conceptual contributions to the compliance debate by excavating the assumptions regarding human action, community and culture underlying each. Special attention is given to the constructivist approach in IL and IR literatures. Constructivism's potential for a full engagement with cultural diversity is evident, but this potential has not yet been fully realized.; The thesis highlights some of the directions in which a constructivist study of compliance with international law ought to proceed in order to fulfill its potential for a true reckoning with cultural diversity. It advances a discourse approach to the long term construction of a global community, complemented by an "interactional" theory of international lawmaking, and explores the crucial roles that civil society actors may play in the construction of such a community. |
