%0 Journal Article %1 denemark2008scraps %A Denemark, Robert A. %A Hoffmann, Matthew J. %D 2008 %J Cooperation and Conflict %K diplomacy long-term network-analysis path-dependence security treaty %N 2 %P 185--219 %R 10.1177/0010836708089082 %T Just Scraps of Paper?: The Dynamics of Multilateral Treaty-Making %U http://cac.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0010836708089082 %V 43 %X Despite its importance in the global system, the literature provides lit- tle guidance on how treaty-making emerged as a well-accepted prac- tice. 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 evo- lution 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.

@article{denemark2008scraps, abstract = {Despite its importance in the global system, the literature provides lit- tle guidance on how treaty-making emerged as a well-accepted prac- tice. 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 evo- lution 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.}, added-at = {2010-03-08T21:12:06.000+0100}, author = {Denemark, Robert A. and Hoffmann, Matthew J.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2c633a89ad83b0b0be9dbb40d8d8ecca7/jrennstich}, doi = {10.1177/0010836708089082}, interhash = {a48994e8c88d8bf81f92534257f0d241}, intrahash = {c633a89ad83b0b0be9dbb40d8d8ecca7}, issn = {0010-8367}, journal = {Cooperation and Conflict}, keywords = {diplomacy long-term network-analysis path-dependence security treaty}, lccn = {0000}, number = 2, pages = {185--219}, timestamp = {2010-03-08T21:12:07.000+0100}, title = {Just Scraps of Paper?: The Dynamics of Multilateral {Treaty-Making}}, url = {http://cac.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0010836708089082}, volume = 43, year = 2008 }