The Global Diffusion of the Norm Abolishing the Death Penalty for Child Offenders.

The lifecycle of the norm abolishing the death penalty for child offenders who are 18 years or younger took 80 years to complete. From its origin in Russia in 1922 to its twilight in the United States (U.S.) in 2005, a total of 134 countries are believed to have abolished the death penalty for child offenders. This study will present the history of abolition for child offenders globally. Through international relations theory, especially constructivism, world polity approaches from sociology, and international legal theory, it will argue that the norm emerged primarily in European and Latin American countries that were well-integrated into the international system. Emergence was followed by a rapid cascade that occurred in the early 1960s, ushering in a period of acceptance that ended in 2005 with U.S. compliance. This study will also assess arguments that suggest there were different motivations for abolition at different periods in the norm’s lifecycle. It will address the motivations of states that comply as well as the primary methods of diffusion for early and late adopters, the role of international and regional law in shaping state behavior, the intrinsic quality of the norm and other indicators such as region, regime type, gross domestic product and the advent of compulsory education. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]