We argue that participation in international agreements is influenced by their design characteristics, notably commitment levels, measured by the specificity of obligations, and compliance mechanisms, measured by monitoring, enforcement, assistance, and dispute settlement provisions in treaties....

This paper is now published as:Bernauer, Thomas, Kalbhenn, Anna, Spilker, Gabriele, Koubi, Vally. 2010. A Comparison of International and Domestic Sources of Global Governance Dynamics: Explaining Global Environmental Treaty Ratifications, 1950-2000. British Journal of Political Science...

We draw on the policy diffusion literature to shed more light on the determinants of treaty ratification, a crucial step in the formation of international regimes. Our hypotheses stipulate that a country's ratification behaviour is influenced by the ratification choices of other countries in...

Press conferences are an important element of a government's communication strategy at climate change summits. From a theoretical perspective, press conferences should serve two main functions: exerting pressure in negotiations and informing the public. These functions correspond to two logics...