Research Information System
Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus)
This article contributes to research on norm contestation by examining the types of responses to norm contesters that might preserve, strengthen or undermine norm robustness. It focuses on the Council of Europe (CoE) and its member states’ reactions to Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and its validity contestation of gender equality norms. Using a typology of responses to norm contestation (i.e. containment, alignment, no response), the study analyzes an original dataset of online diplomatic communications released during the three-month official withdrawal process. The findings show that the CoE and its members did not align with Turkey, either adopting a non-response strategy or actively containing Turkey’s position, thereby reinforcing their commitment to the Convention and gender equality norms. The analysis reveals that even the effects of validity norm contestations, as in the Turkish case, can be mitigated through containment responses, preserving and even reinforcing the norms’ robustness.