ABSTRACT
In international relations theories, soft power is a major concept for analyzing norm circulation. It relies on a diffusionist approach that focuses on the central role of the United States. Such an approach encompasses circulation, diffusion and appropriation of standards in a single model. The first aim of this chapter is to propose an alternative framework of norm circulation based upon the notion of global attraction (i.e., “the political unit of the world as a point of result of the universal history”). It provides a better understanding of transfers in international relations by discussing general theories in the field (realist or neo-realist, liberal or neo-liberal, constructivist). The chapter also aims at applying this model to a specific case: Rome’s negotiation in 1998 concerning the International Criminal Court and more precisely the position of the United States against its creation. This Court results from a global attraction which does not entail an Americanization of norms.
