Global norms – from the United Nations and the like – can be useful, according to Brown University development studies graduate Laura Marcus ‘10. That, in and of itself, challenges notions that all such norms are too top-down – or, too often, merely empty rhetoric, she said. But there is an important proviso, Laura found in her research on mental healthcare reform in Hidalgo, Mexico: Supranational norms can work provided they are tools for local actors. And the strength of local leadership is a key factor, she said in her thesis presentation last May, on “Mental Health Reform in Mexico: How Local Actors Utilize Supranational Legislation to Create Change.”
