Cultural isomorphism among nation-states: The role of international organizations

Researchers have shown that there is increased homogeneity in the organizational forms and practices of nation-states, among both developing and developed countries. However, the mechanisms which produce this isomorphism have not been clearly delineated, leaving it a fruitful area for analytic research. This study identifies and examines international organizations as one such mechanism. It is an investigation of the impact of international organizations on nation-state structures and practices, and thus on the patterns of behavior identified as world culture.;Three areas were selected for detailed qualitative and quantitative examination: (1) the establishment of criteria for nation-state form and behavior, examining the determination of statehood in United Nations; (2) information gathering efforts and the establishment of an international national accounting system by the United Nations and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and (3) effects of international organization decisions on national policies, concentrating on educational aims in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, with the cooperation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Investigation in each of these areas revealed both that international organizations set and define prescriptions for nation-state form and behavior, and that there was wide and increasing conformity to those international organization prescriptions by nation-states throughout the world, despite economic, social, and political differences. The similarity between international organization activities and the actual patterns of world cultural accounts indicates that international organizations play an important instrumental role in the process of institutionalization in the international system.;The nation-state is treated as a cultural object and the international system as a cultural community giving it meaning, shaping and defining its structure and behavior. By identifying international organizations as an institutionalizing mechanism, this research helps explain how an international system emerges out of a world of culturally differentiated nation-states.;In short, this dissertation combines political, organizational, and cultural analyses to elucidate the organizational mechanisms creating isomorphism among nation-states. As such, it contributes to an understanding of both homogeneity and heterogeneity among contemporary nation-states.