Norm ihtilafı süreçlerinde hukukiliğin rolü: Geri göndermeme ve insani koruma normlarında çok boyutlu değişimin karşılaştırmalı analizi

International norms are not fixed, but are continuously subject to pressures of change through contestations. This dissertation aims to understand the role of legality on the change of norm strength through contestation processes. Contrary to the expectations of mainstream constructivist theories of norm development, legal institutionalization seems neither to prevent the challenges towards the norms, nor ensure resilience of norm strength. Drawing on international legal theory and the constructivist literature, this study introduces a new understanding of legality as process, defined as the use of legal institutions, discourse and argumentative logic, and evaluates its impact on norm strength, utilizing a multidimensional norm strength conceptualization, that for the first time in the literature incorporates norm's meaning along with its authoritative power and global reach. On the basis of this conceptual framework, I comparatively analyze the evolutionary trajectories of the legal norm of non-refoulement and the non-legal norm of human protection over subsequent cycles of contestations. I employ a combination of discourse and content analysis on the selected documents representing the argumentative positions of contending actors and the nature of contestation processes. The findings demonstrate firstly, that neither formal legality of the norm is a guarantee for a legal logic and language in contestations, nor the lack of formal legality prevents process legality to prevail. Secondly, the legal nature of the contestation processes has a positive influence on norm strength. By linking the contestations both to the international legal system and to the existing intersubjective conventions of the international community, process legality provides the ground for a revised consensus on norms, hence prevents norm weakening. On the other hand, the non-legal or political nature of contestation processes leads to a deadlock in the normative evolution, and even discredits its former gains.