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Norm-based Strategies as Tools for Activists

Melissa Schnyder, 10 July 2020

Normative reframing and normative innovation are two advocacy strategies that have been uncovered by academic researchers who study advocacy efforts toward social and political change on troublesome policy issues (Raymond et al., 2014; Raymond and Weldon, 2013; Delshad and Raymond, 2016). What makes these strategies noteworthy is that activists have used them and continue to use them with some degree of success, particularly for issues characterized by strong social and cultural opposition, and powerful vested interests. The goal with these strategies involves changing norms; that is, changing what is considered the standard of appropriate social behavior that people find acceptable. Such a change can pave the way for bigger social and political change, including legal and policy reform.

As Raymond and his colleagues explain, normative reframing, the first norm-based strategy, involves applying a different, more “fitting” norm to an issue by re-thinking and re-positioning that issue in such a way as to suggest different behaviors compared to the status quo. When activists use normative reframing, they first call out how the status quo norm does not really fit the issue. In calling into question a taken for granted norm, activists get people to question their behaviors that are guided by that poor-fitting norm. They then introduce a different norm that they argue is a better fit. In reframing the issue, they apply the strongest possible norm(s) in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the newly proposed norm and make it difficult to infringe upon.

Normative innovation, the second strategy, occurs when activists engage in the creative and hard work of creating an entirely new norm. Unlike normative reframing, which is used when advocates view the status-quo norm as a poor fit to the issue, normative innovation is used when activists reject the legitimacy of the status quo norm in and of itself. In this sense, it involves the outright rejection of an undesirable norm, after which activists propose a new norm that they have worked to create, which supports behaviors that lead to the desired change.

Both strategies begin with “foregrounding,” or calling attention to, weakening, and dismantling a status quo norm. Advocates then have the opening to create change by employing normative reframing, normative innovation, or both.

These two norm-based strategies hold potential for generating momentum toward change in cases where strong vested interests or customary practices have blocked reform. As others have noted, “Policies mandating new actions related to food security, environmental conservation, or violence against women may remain ineffective when in conflict with strongly established norms related to gender and family roles, social status, and consumption” (Raymond and Weldon 2013: 2). In other words, there are instances in which the creation of formal laws is not enough to produce social change. In these cases, “equal or greater attention to informal rules of behavior is often required” (Raymond and Weldon 2013: 4). In many issue areas that require advocacy, including climate change, women’s rights, statelessness, refugee and migrant rights, etc., international instruments are sometimes at odds with national policies, customs, or practices. These situations are ripe for advocates to employ these strategies to generate social and political change. The references below can be used for further reading, and have been used to inform this brief summary. The next post highlights practical examples of these strategies in action, which have been highlighted in academic research.

Delshad, A. B., and L. Raymond. 2016. “Normative Framing and Public Attitudes Toward Biofuels Policies.” Environmental Communication 10 (4): 508-524.

Raymond, L., and L. Weldon. 2013. “Informal Institutions and Strategies for Social Change.” (Workshop on Informal Institutions and Intractable Global Problems Issue Brief), http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/intractableproblems/pdf/Informal_Inst.pdf (accessed 11/10/2018).

Raymond, L., L. Weldon, D. Kelly, X. Arriaga, and A. Clark. 2014. “Making change: Norm-based strategies for institutional change to address intractable problems.” Political Research Quarterly, 67, 1: 197–211.