POWRE: The Adoption and Enforcement of Laws Banning Female Mutilation

In recent years, a number of African nations have passed laws banning female genital excision (FGE). Human rights advocates question whether these laws will be effective in changing a cultural practice, which has existed in some areas for thousands of years. Using sociological institutionalism and status construction theory, this study investigates whether, and under what circumstances, symbolic laws are able to change behavior. Data addressing the incidence of FGE has been collected for 242 subnational groups. This research will also consider whether laws have an effect in changing behavior over and above general international pressure. The method of time series analysis will be employed to explain changes in the rates of FGE for these tribal groups during the period from 1979 to present. One of the unique insights of institutional theory has been its ability to explain the existence of `decoupling,` that is, a weak relationship between laws and action. This work extends institutional theory by considering variation in the degree of decoupling. Hypotheses predict that laws will be most effective (have less decoupling) when they are passed as a result of internal mobilization more than as a result of pressure from the international community, and also when elite tribes discontinue the practice of FGE and interaction among tribes is common within the nation. This research also has implications for the important topic of how best to implement a human rights agenda. After practicing law for four years, the investigator took time `off` to earn a Ph.D. and raise young children. She is now beginning an academic career and wishes to use her dual background in social psychology and international law to make a unique contribution to the sociology of law. This award will enable her to explore the feasibility of using a comparative approach as a controlled test of whether and under what circumstances laws have an impact on behavior. The research has direct policy implications for eradicating FGE, and also impacts the theoretical understanding of when and why laws change behavior. For that reason, this award will enhance the investigator's leadership potential in both academic and policy fields.