Norm clusters, that is “collections of aligned, but distinct, norms or principles that relate to a common, overarching issue area” (Lantis/Wunderlich 2018: 571) are a widespread feature of global governance. International Relations scholars on norms, international law and regimes – albeit to different extents and with different foci – acknowledge their existence and have put forward assumptions as to the impact of norm linkages on the functioning of global order. 
 

It has become a mantra of IR theories of different origins to point to the vertical robustness of highly institutionalized and legalized norm clusters: Norms that are embedded in larger norm structures such as international regimes, are more persistent and robust than less institutionalized or legalized norms And while norm scholars have explored examples of norm erosion or decay, the disintegration of norm clusters seems to be a rather rare phenomenon. What then explains the phenomenon of norm cluster resiliency? Whereas empirical studies on the evolution and effectiveness of single norms abound, norm clusters have rarely been the subject of systematic analyses in empirical norm studies. In fact, the systematic exploration of norm interrelations has become the focus of norm scholarship only recently. Yet, research on norm interrelations is still in its beginnings and exact conditions for and implications of norm clustering remain underexplored.

In order to shed light on the mystery of norm cluster resiliency, the project seeks to tie in with this emerging strand of norm interaction scholarship by zooming in on the processes of norm cluster making and development. Research questions are: Under what conditions does norm clustering occur and how do strategies of cluster making and the nature of the clusters themselves differ across (groups of) actors?  How do norm clusters evolve and travel across different normative communities? Tracing and comparing how norm clusters differ across time and stakeholders will also allow to shed light on a question that has hitherto remained unanswered: Does being clustered together fundamentally enhance the efficacy of norms and what are the scope-conditions for linked norms to gain resilience in light of challenges? Conversely, under what conditions does contestation of single norms belonging to a cluster trigger “contagion effects” leading to the collapse of the cluster as a whole?

For empirical purposes the project will focus on the reconstruction of processes of norm cluster making and development in the global nuclear order.