Transnational network rivalry in a domestic environment: normative contestation over sexual and reproductive health in Uganda

The international political environment surrounding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) has experienced increasing contestation between rival transnational normative networks in the last ten years, due, in part, to the recent conservative and populist turn in international relations. This shift has led to a heightened conflict between the pro-rights SRHR network and the natural family network over normative understandings of SRHR. Although scholars have highlighted the impact of rival networks on sexual and reproductive health outcomes at the global level or have quantitatively assessed the impact of rival networks regarding the adoption of policies at a domestic level, what these studies are unable to explain is the impact of rival networks on both institutionalisation (policies and legislation) and habitualisation (attitudes and behaviour). It is important to interrogate both of these processes as they constitute both sides of the norm internalisation coin.

Employing a single case study, this thesis adopts a qualitative approach to examine the impact that rival transnational normative networks have had on the institutionalisation and habitualisation of sexual and reproductive health in Uganda. Focusing specifically on family planning and contraception as well as sex/sexuality education, this thesis explores the pathways of influence that permit the networks access to Uganda’s institutional and behavioural structures that enable them to promote their respective normative agendas. It also addresses when contestation occurs and what impact this may have on outcomes related to institutionalisation and habitualisation. This thesis contributes to both the norms literature regarding the emerging research that focuses on the phenomenon of rival transnational normative networks, and the sexual and reproductive health and rights literature by highlighting the contestation between rival networks within the SRHR field that takes place on a domestic level and what this means for sexual and reproductive health outcomes.