Norm Entrepreneurship with Chinese Characteristics? Constructing a ‘Green bri’

Although illiberal normative projects have become increasingly prominent internationally, ir norms research has, for a long time, focused mainly on liberal norm entrepreneurs. Through the study of the environmental norms promoted by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (bri), the so-called ‘green bri’, this contribution seeks to add to the empirical horizon of norm entrepreneurship. Drawing on insights from area studies and authoritarian regime studies, I argue that based on its domestic political system, China engages in a specific pattern of norm promotion. By shedding light on the development of ‘Green bri’ norms, I argue that these efforts are shaped by China’s internal political practice in two ways: They are informed by ‘slogan politics’, vague formulations issued by high-level figures that are filled with life and interpreted subsequently, and they highlight the agency of the Chinese state while allowing large degrees of flexibility for state-owned enterprises and their economic interests.