Global Norms in Local Contexts - Examining Cases of Environmental Governance in France

This Brief discusses the translation of global environmental norms across local contexts in France. It provides a snapshot of how global-level environmental norms travel vertically across levels of governance, from the global to the local, and asks how global environmental norms are (re)interpreted by local-level actors and translated to a particular local context.
Chapters focus on three in-depth case studies, each involving multi-stakeholder environmental governance: (1) the Cerbère-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve, (2) the Thau Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG), and (3) the Biovallée biodistrict. In each of these cases, the author assesses how twilight norms are used to frame, promote, and generally develop a local discourse that centers on environmental conservation and sustainability.
By combining concepts from the literature on norm localization with processes from the literature on norm-based institutional change, this Brief will generate new insights on the dynamic aspects of norm translation. As such, it will be of interest to researchers studying environmental politics, comparative policy, governance, and norms.




Melissa Schnyder is a faculty member in the Doctorate of Global Security program within the School of Security and Global Studies at American Public University. Her research focuses on transnational social movements, human security policy issues, and European Union politics, with a focus on the political participation and influence of non-state actors. As a former Fulbright Fellow to the European Union, she was based at the Institute for European Studies in Brussels, Belgium where she conducted extensive fieldwork and interviews with policymakers in the European Commission, elected officials in the European Parliament, and NGO practitioners. She has been a visiting researcher at universities in Belgium and France, has assisted with research projects at the German Marshall Fund of the United States' Transatlantic Center in Brussels, and has been invited to speak at transnational symposia in Europe and the United States. Her research has been published in a variety of international peer-reviewed journals. Past monographs include Activism, NGOs, and the State: Multilevel Responses to Immigration Politics in Europe, and Advocating for Refugees in the European Union: Norm-based Strategies by Civil Society Organizations (with Noha Shawki).