Nation-state participation in intergovernmental technology organizations

The world regime of development in the post-WWII era has given rise to the expansion of intergovernmental technology organizations (IGTO) and membership. Providing standards and regulations and engaging in collective research and development, these organizations play an important role in constructing the political, cultural, and technological landscape in the world. This study reveals that nation-states joined more IGTOs over time, but to varying degrees, and examines factors affecting state participation in such organizations. We propose that in the post-WWII era, nation-state participation in IGTOs is largely shaped by both the worldwide rational and participatory models for nation-states and national institutional structures, over and above the effects of national economic, scientific, and technological development. We argue that the following institutional mechanisms are at work: (1) the nation-states less incorporated into the world polity through various linkages join more IGTOs; (2) national-polity style and the government's participatory path affect the internal institutional arrangements which lead to differing nation-state participation. Support for these hypotheses was found with membership data for IGTOs in panel regression analysis and structural equations model with latent factors.