Illuminating Facets of Diamond Regulation in the EU: Theoretical Explanations for Implementation

This study examines the viability of two theories - constructivist theory (where norms interact with preferences to shape policy outcomes) and rational choice theory (where actors make decisions to further their self-interest) - as a means to explain the European Union's (EU) implementation of international diamond regulation. The regulation in place, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), is a multilevel governance initiative designed to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. For decades, the illicit diamond trade has spawned human rights atrocities in countries where diamonds are procured, impacting the development of several diamond-producing nations. Seeing as over 80 percent of international diamond transactions occur within the EU's borders, this governing authority has a large stake in international diamond industry regulation. In recent years, EU scholars have explored the fruitfulness of constructivism in explaining EU policy implementation, in part because it accounts for the way in which the EU exerts its authority in our globalized world. That is, scholars have analyzed how the EU exerts its authority through values, norms and principles (i.e. upholding human rights abroad), as opposed to more traditional forms of power such as military force. My hypothesis states that diamond regulation implementation is a case for constructivist theory, as it best accounts for the underlying forces behind this highly complex and global supply chain. However, the findings in this study indicate that the theoretical explanations behind the EU's KPCS implementation are just as multifaceted as the diamond industry itself