Fifteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Why did the Ethiopian government ratify the African Union’s Maputo Protocol 15 years after it had signed it, and why, once they had done it, did they tell no one? Constructivist accounts of women’s struggles discuss processes of translating international norms to local contexts, but rarely account for the intricacies of national politics. The case of Ethiopia shows that the reality of adopting a normative framework is immensely complex and contextual. This study contributes to an understanding of what happens to international norms in national political contexts. Based on qualitative interviews, the paper uses empirical data to understand how the interplay of international influence, political regime, dominant ideology and the content of the Maputo Protocol (Kang 2015) led to 15-years of contestation, and finally an ad hoc and quiet ratification of one of the most progressive women’s rights frameworks in the world. The paper argues that volatile politics explain the lengthy journey towards ratification and a long list of reservations, but also suggests that the actual ratification was little more than circumstantial.