The volume draws on United Nations treaty ratification data from three different issue areas – arms control, environment and human rights – to study the participation patterns of democracies and non-democracies in international treaty regimes. Incorporating two in-depth case studies on the United States and China, the author traces the impact of domestic institutional structure, state capacity and internal social norms on state decisions to resist or participate.
Srini Sitaraman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and International Relations, Clark University, USA.