World Polity Theory and Time Dependence: Another Look at the Global Rise of the Nation-State

• In Event: 183 - Regular Session. International Organizations and World Polity

Abstract

Did the nation-state spread worldwidely as the result of a process of global diffusion? Wimmer and Feinstein’s 2010 ASR article concludes that no “world polity” influenced the rise of the nation-state, which was instead driven by proximate and contextual political factors situated at the local and regional levels, in line with historical institutionalist arguments. Here, after arguing that they misinterpret the world polity theory and misspecify time dependence in binary data, we reanalyze their data and find that besides historical institutionalism, world polity has played a consistent role in the global rise of the nation-state following WWI. The institutionalization of world polity is measured by Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs), International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and processes whereby potential nation-states mimic the existing nation-states, all of which show positive significance in the post-1914 period. The significance of world polity confirms the importance of state legitimacy secured by adaptions of institutionalized template of nation-state.

Authors

• Xue Li, Emory University

• Alexander Hicks, Emory University