Entering World Society: A Research Note on Measurement and Statistical Modeling

• In Event: 4259 - Transnational Processes in the World Society

Abstract

International organizations are thought to serve as conduits for the diffusion of world-cultural standards and norms and are the favored way of operationalizing linkages to world society. Despite extensive use of these measures in cross-national, longitudinal models, few studies address how new country entries into the world system may impact results. Newly independent nations are not previously undiscovered islands, but rather enter world society as inheritors of prior ties and knowledge. This paper highlights how measurement choices about International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and Inter-Governmental Organization (IGOs) around the time of country entry can influence conclusions. We argue that missing membership data for new countries entering the world system, particularly Eastern European countries in the early 1990s, bias cross-national analyses when treated improperly. We demonstrate the extent of the problem, and its effects on findings, with a replication of Wade Cole's (2005) analysis of international human rights covenants. We call on researchers to acknowledge this dilemma, and suggest a corrective treatment -- multilevel negative binomial imputation of membership data for new countries in their first years of sovereignty.

Authors

• Pamela M. Paxton, University of Texas

• Nicholas E. Reith, University of Texas-Austin

• Melanie M. Hughes, University of Pittsburgh

• Wade M. Cole, University of Utah