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Translation in motion: a concept’s journey towards norm diffusion studies

Abstract Scholars of International Relations (IR) increasingly study global norm diffusion as translation, in order to capture norm transformation beyond mere transfer. However, in contrast to ‘original’ understandings of translation, the IR version gives ontological priority to the actor, downplaying the productive power of cultural difference. Thus, IR brings translation in line with the discipline’s universal assumption of a Western-centric rationale of action. To expose this conceptual shift, which follows a policy-oriented research interest, this article retraces the concept’s ‘origins’ in translation studies, postcolonial studies and actor-network theory. The genealogical perspective shows the translation concept in motion, currently unfolding its dynamics within IR. Finally, we see a new research field of global norm translation emerging that promises a pluralist perspective on the global. However, because scholars hesitate to attack the core problem of IR’s positivist ontology, the ‘provincialisation’ of the discipline’s mainstream perception of the global South remains a work in progress.