Norm competition in evolving norm clusters: the case of humanitarian arms control

Abstract Situated within the research on norm complexity, this article studies norm competition during the evolution of norm clusters. It draws on insights from media and communication research to theorize how competition for limited attentional resources—such as advocacy capacity, public awareness, and agenda space—can lead to the blocking or displacement of weaker norms by dominant ones, resulting in partial norm emergence. I apply this framework to the evolution of the humanitarian arms control cluster, focusing on the delayed emergence of the norm against cluster munitions. Through process tracing and content analysis of public and institutional discourses from 1945 to 1997, I demonstrate how this norm lost the competition for attention twice: first to incendiary weapons in the 1960s and 1970s, and then to anti-personnel landmines in the 1980s and 1990s. The analysis reveals that issue attractiveness, sequence, and framing dynamics played critical roles in determining which norms gained traction. By offering a relational perspective on norms, this study advances and complements our understanding of the evolution of norm clusters. The findings have practical implications for advocacy strategies, challenging the dominance of one-issue advocacy approaches.