The use of norms at the aid/cooperation regime: the role of Britain and Brazil

This thesis examines the use of norms by British and Brazilian actors in the aid/cooperation regime in the 21st century. Using a constructivist approach, this research analyses actors’ agency in asymmetric international and domestic environments, in which different norms, dissimilar identities, and opposing interests coexist. This research argues that, regardless of the discourses and theories surrounding the differentiation between North-South and South-South aid/cooperation, British and Brazilian actors use norms to achieve their own goals at the domestic and international levels. The used strategies also resemble both case studies. Processes of norm circulation in the aid/cooperation regime have a greater impact at the international level and within the domestic environment of donor/partner countries, than in promoting behavioural changes in recipient countries. However, the content of British and Brazilian norms is different given their historical position in the international regime and domestic context. The present study sought to unveil how actors use aid/cooperation norms in order to achieve their goals in three major instances: 1- the international forums where actors debate the aid/cooperation regime’s architecture; 2- the domestic environment of donor/partner countries; and, 3- the domestic level of recipient countries, where international norms are diffused