Joining international financial institutions: A normative influence of international organizations as epistemic communities

Scholars continue to question the influences that international organizations have on nation-states and the influences that internationally held norms and ideas have on nation-state behavior, as well. Here I attempt to combine these two lines of inquiry and argue that international organizations can have an ideational influence on the behavior of nation-states, specifically arguing that International Financial Institutions have influence by spreading the norms and ideas of liberal economic models. I contend that the staffs of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the GATT/WTO can be viewed as epistemic communities that actively teach nation-states how to behave in the international economy. I use elements of the constructivist approach in international relations to demonstrate that the relationship between international organizations and international teachers, and nation-states as international learners, and attempt to demonstrate the influence organizations have in nation-state behavior through an intersubjective relationship. One instance where this relationship can be seen is in nation-state ascension to membership in these organizations. I construct 14 models of International Financial Institution joining to look for a non-material influence in joining these material organizations. The empirical analysis finds no support for the material hypotheses, but does support potential non-material motivations. Specifically I find that newly-emergent and newly-independent nation-states and nation-states under the western-sphere of influence join these organizations much more rapidly than other types of nation-states which opens up the possibility that ideational motivations are at play in these decisions.