| This dissertation examines the social construction of the international ban on antipersonnel landmines in the period 1991--2001. It analyses of the ways in which a number of key identities (states, international and non-governmental organizations) contributed to the development and rapid multilateral acceptance of a new set of landmine norms---a comprehensive ban on the production, stockpiling, trade and use of anti-personnel mines.; Building upon a research methodology developed by norm theorists, inspired by social constructivism, this dissertation argues that the new anti-personnel mine ban norms emerged as the project of a small group of 'norm entrepreneurs' in the early 1990s. This group formed the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1992 and, through a combination of 'issue generation' and 'norm grafting' discursive techniques, managed to place the landmine issue and their corresponding normative demands on the international agenda. By 1994 the idea of a ban on anti-personnel mines had attracted the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as key elements of the United Nations System. This nascent ban coalition sought the codification of the new ban norms within civil-society as a means to influence the 'institutionalization' of the norms through inter-state negotiations.; The first round of multilateral landmine negotiations within the consensus governed Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons process (1994--1996) yielded marginal progress on the ban agenda. However, developments within this process did contribute to the success of the subsequent Ottawa Process (1996--1997), a fast-track diplomatic initiative set in motion by Canada and a Core Group of medium and small states working closely with the civil-society based ban campaign. These cooperative efforts yielded the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, as well generating an international mine ban norm 'cascade' that contributed to signature of the Ban Treaty by 142 states by late 2001. The maintenance of the close government-civil society cooperation, has contributed to the timely and generally effective implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, now widely believed to be having a positive impact on the global landmine problem. |
