The Normalization of Contestation

The Sociology of Knowledge and the Challenges to the Liberal International Order

Bibliographic Data

ID6147002
AuthorsRebecca Adler-Nissen (0000-0001-7924-9957, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume4
Issue2
Publication date2024-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2634-3797 • E-ISSN: 2634-3797
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/isagsq/ksae020
OpenAlexW4394992425
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited20

Many of the in-built contradictions in the liberal international order were pointed out by critics early on. Why were these voices not heard? How was contestation ignored or made acceptable by the people governing within liberal sub-orders, articulating progress, rationality, and equality? Drawing on insights from the sociology of knowledge and theories of organizational culture, I address this puzzle through the lens of the “normalization of deviance.” Beyond understanding the challenges as a crisis of and within the liberal international order, I argue that they unveil the limitations of hegemonic expertise governing this order. Part of the current predicament of the liberal international order has to do with the entrenched positioning and organizational cultures of political leaders and experts, making them blind to their own blindness. As they justify deviations and defend “their” order, they normalize contestation. The implications extend beyond the immediate challenges to the liberal international order, offering insights into reimagining its future and prompting a reconsideration of the discipline dedicated to understanding it

Economics · Epistemology · Normalization (sociology · Order (exchange · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of knowledge · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism · Globalization and political ideologies · Philosophy

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