The Evolution of International Sovereignty Norms and the Process of State-Level Norm Internalization

This thesis seeks to address both the evolution of international sovereignty norms and the process of state-level internalization of these norms by working across international relations theories. It poses the following, two-part, research question: have international legal sovereignty norms evolved, and if so, by what process have states internalized new sovereignty norms on the domestic level? It hypothesizes that traditional constructs of Westphalian sovereignty have evolved into a new sovereignty-modern norm, which is characterized by the emergence of positive rights in international law. It further hypothesizes that international norms frame domestic level cost-benefit analysis on the state level, which leads to domestic level internalization or rejection of these new norms in domestic law. It tests this theory through the use of a comparative case methodology, which encompasses two series of quantitative content analysis and a series of textual analysis of state-level cost-benefit decision-making. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings of this study