Karisa Cloward, Ph.D.

kcloward@smu.edu

Southern Methodist University

City: Dallas, Texas

Country: United States

Website

About Me:

I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). My research focuses on non-governmental organizations, international norms and transnational activism, international aid, Sub-Saharan African politics, and gender and politics. My first book, When Norms Collide: Local Responses to Activism against Female Genital Mutilation and Early Marriage (Oxford University Press, 2016), addresses how local communities respond to activism against the traditional practices of female genital mutilation and early marriage in Kenya. I received my Ph.D. from Yale University in 2010.

Research Interests

Development

African Politics

NGOs

Gender and Politics

International Law & Organization

Foreign Aid

Countries of Interest

Kenya

Publications:

Books Written:

(2016) When Norms Collide: Local Responses to Activism against Female Genital Mutilation and Early Marriage, Oxford University Press

When Norms Collide addresses how local communities respond to activism against the traditional practices of female genital mutilation and early marriage in Kenya. Many transnational campaigns, and particularly the transnational campaign on violence against women, promote international norms that target the behavior of local non-state actors, but these international norms are often at odds with local practices. What happens when the international and local norms collide? When does transnational activism lead individuals and communities to abandon local norms and embrace international ones? When Norms Collide present a theoretical framework for understanding the processes by which individuals negotiate competing demands placed on them by international and local norms. Drawing on extensive fieldwork with Maasai and Samburu communities in Kenya, the book argues that, when faced with international normative messages, individuals can decide to change their attitudes, their behavior, and the public image they present to international and local audiences. It finds that the impact of transnational activism on individual decision-making substantially depends on the salience of the international and local norms to their respective proponents, as well as on community-level factors. The book further finds that there are both social and temporal dimensions to the diffusion of international norms across individuals and through communities.