Norm appropriation through policy production: Rwanda’s gender policies

This article contributes to current debates on the role and agency of actors on the receiving end in norm diffusion processes, and explores the role of the Government of Rwanda in appropriating gender equality norms through policy production. It considers policy production as a central meaning-making activity in norm diffusion and applies a definition of appropriation as a discursive mechanism through which meaning is negotiated and constituted. Through an analysis of national policy documents on gender equality, it finds that appropriation occurs when the meaning of gender equality is altered to serve as a central feature in the construction of a ‘new’ Rwandan identity.