Billiard Balls or Snowflakes? Major Power Prestige and the International Diffusion of Institutions and Practices

Abstract

Do the institutions and practices of the major powers influence those of other states? Many international relations theorists have argued that these powerful states' prestige allows them to define what is normatively acceptable. This paper tests the influence of the internal characteristics of major powers on democratization, the extension of formal political equality to women, and the practice of jailing or killing the state's domestic political opponents. We find support for the major power prestige hypothesis in the latter two cases. In understanding some important international outcomes, it makes sense to treat major powers less like impenetrable “billiard balls,” distinguished only by their relative power, and more like “snowflakes” with many relevant internal characteristics.

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