Nordic Norms, Natural Disasters, and International Protection : Swedish and Finnish Practice in European Perspective
(2022) In Nordic Journal of International Law 91(1). p.101-123- Abstract
- In international law, new norms can emerge through the identification and development of effective practices. This article examines Swedish, Finnish and, less closely, other Nordic countries’ contributions to the slow process of norm emergence in relation to cross-border displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. It focuses on Sweden and Finland’s early adoption, and subsequent judicial application, of a legal provision establishing a right to international protection for persons unable to return home in the context of an ‘environmental disaster’. As calls are growing for European countries to take more concerted action to address this phenomenon, we examine why this pioneering approach never became an ‘effective... (More)
- In international law, new norms can emerge through the identification and development of effective practices. This article examines Swedish, Finnish and, less closely, other Nordic countries’ contributions to the slow process of norm emergence in relation to cross-border displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. It focuses on Sweden and Finland’s early adoption, and subsequent judicial application, of a legal provision establishing a right to international protection for persons unable to return home in the context of an ‘environmental disaster’. As calls are growing for European countries to take more concerted action to address this phenomenon, we examine why this pioneering approach never became an ‘effective practice’, and how this experience can nonetheless inform the emergence of new norms at the European level. Drawing on norm development theory, we argue that progressive interpretation and application of existing international protection standards, combined with the initiation of a European consultative process dedicated to identification and development of effective practices that are attuned to regional displacement dynamics, is more likely to contribute to norm emergence than the creation of new categories of international protection as attempted in Sweden and Finland. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2d9b135f-a985-417d-bab1-4434dc18f9af
- author
- Scott, Matthew LU and Garner, Russell LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Climate change, Disaster, Displacement, Finland, International protection, Nordic, Norm emergence, Sweden, Human rights, Klimatförändring, Katastrof, Flykt, Finland, Internationellt skydd, Nordiskt, Normuppkomst, Sverige, Mänskliga rättigheter
- in
- Nordic Journal of International Law
- volume
- 91
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 22 pages
- publisher
- Brill
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85127953968
- ISSN
- 0902-7351
- DOI
- 10.1163/15718107-91010005
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2d9b135f-a985-417d-bab1-4434dc18f9af
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-10 11:00:35
- date last changed
- 2022-08-30 15:57:13
@article{2d9b135f-a985-417d-bab1-4434dc18f9af,
abstract = {{In international law, new norms can emerge through the identification and development of effective practices. This article examines Swedish, Finnish and, less closely, other Nordic countries’ contributions to the slow process of norm emergence in relation to cross-border displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. It focuses on Sweden and Finland’s early adoption, and subsequent judicial application, of a legal provision establishing a right to international protection for persons unable to return home in the context of an ‘environmental disaster’. As calls are growing for European countries to take more concerted action to address this phenomenon, we examine why this pioneering approach never became an ‘effective practice’, and how this experience can nonetheless inform the emergence of new norms at the European level. Drawing on norm development theory, we argue that progressive interpretation and application of existing international protection standards, combined with the initiation of a European consultative process dedicated to identification and development of effective practices that are attuned to regional displacement dynamics, is more likely to contribute to norm emergence than the creation of new categories of international protection as attempted in Sweden and Finland.}},
author = {{Scott, Matthew and Garner, Russell}},
issn = {{0902-7351}},
keywords = {{Climate change; Disaster; Displacement; Finland; International protection; Nordic; Norm emergence; Sweden; Human rights; Klimatförändring; Katastrof; Flykt; Finland; Internationellt skydd; Nordiskt; Normuppkomst; Sverige; Mänskliga rättigheter}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{101--123}},
publisher = {{Brill}},
series = {{Nordic Journal of International Law}},
title = {{Nordic Norms, Natural Disasters, and International Protection : Swedish and Finnish Practice in European Perspective}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718107-91010005}},
doi = {{10.1163/15718107-91010005}},
volume = {{91}},
year = {{2022}},
}