| ID | 082692 |
| Title Proper | Just scraps of paper |
| Other Title Information | the dynamics of multilateral treaty-making |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Denemark, Robert A ; Hoffmann, Matthew J |
| Publication | 2008. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Despite its importance in the global system, the literature provides little guidance on how treaty-making emerged as a well-accepted practice. In either assuming the appropriateness of treaty-making (and then analysing design) or treating treaties as strategic choices in the pursuit of gains (without analysing how treaties came to be a way to pursue gains), the current literature discounts the emergence and evolution of treaty-making. This lacuna contributes to a biased view of treaty-making as the epiphenomenal result of specific, ahistorical factors, rather than as a patterned, historical practice. We contend that the evolution of the practice of treaty-making is significant for questions of design/compliance, the future of multilateral interaction and global order. In addressing this concern, we pursue two linked goals. The first is self-consciously descriptive. We introduce a dataset of multilateral treaties that provides a novel picture of treaty-making across time, space and issue-areas. The second goal is explanatory. We develop and test a social constructivist and path-dependent explanation for the patterns of treaty-making evident in the data, especially 150 years of exponential growth, the spread of treaty-making across multiple issues and the diffusion of the practice across the world. |
| `In' analytical Note | Cooperation and Conflict Vol. 43, No.2; Jun 2008: p185-219 |
| Journal Source | Cooperation and Conflict Vol. 43, No.2; Jun 2008: p185-219 |
| Key Words | Increasing Returns ; Multilateral Treaties and Treaty-Making ; Path Dependence ; Social Constructivism |