Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea: Public Ideas ... - IMO

Introduction 17
my understanding of the global ocean dumping regime and the radwaste
disposal issue.
Is global regulation of ocean dumping of radwaste a rare or unusual case,
or can lessons based on it be generalized to other cases? Several recent studies
have demonstrated that transnational coalitions spreading normative
ideas and powerful images can be very influential in international politics.
For instance, by engaging in moral persuasion and mobilizing social pressure,
a transnational NGO coalition recently succeeded in establishing an
international norm banning antipersonnel land mines (Price 1998). Another
security study has examined the international taboo on the use of chemical
weapons and has shown that socially constructed symbols, rather than
objective facts and technical data, can have important political consequences
for warfare (Price 1995). 26 And “transnational moral entrepreneurs”
mobilizing popular opinion and public support have played a critical
role in the creation of global norms prohibiting piracy, slavery and the slave
trade, international drug trafficking, and the killing of whales and elephants
(Nadelmann 1990). It seems evident, therefore, that the propositions based
on this single case study are relevant to several other international issue
areas.
It is worth stressing that the substantive areas examined in those studies
range from the environment to military security—in other words, from
“low politics” to “high politics.” Despite some minor differences, these
cases exhibit a number of important common features that also are central
themes of this book: Cooperation aims at protection or provision of an
international public good. Transnational coalitions are significant actors.
International organizations might be useful policy arenas but are only seldom
important actors. The issue of conflict becomes salient at crucial points
in the international policy process. Campaigning, persuasion, and public
diplomacy are important instruments of influence and control. Policy entrepreneurs
use ideas, images, and symbols strategically to focus public and
policy attention on the targeted issue.
Moreover, these common features tend to manifest themselves in a number
of characteristic ways: Even powerful states often need to reformulate
their policies and sometimes their interests. These issues pit civil society
against the state. Norms and ideology carry equal and often more political
weight than scientific knowledge and technical facts. International ideas
and norms reflect Western ideas and norms.