The Transnational Impact of Conventions on the Financial and Legal Policies of Non-Member States

This article analyzes the channels through which international conventions influence even non-signatory states, focusing on two main channels: economic pressures and normative/social pressures. Economically, states adapt domestic laws to bring them in line with international norms to maintain access to international markets, attract foreign investment, and comply with conditionality from international financial institutions. This leads to regulatory convergence even among non-signatory states, mainly concerning areas such as anti-money laundering and environmental protection. Normatively, the 'norm cascade' theory explains how the spread of particular norms invokes internal and external pressure to adhere by non-members states. Internalization procedures triggered by international agencies and interest groups allow for such norms to be internalized on the basis of legitimacy and obligation rather than coercion. Theoretically, realism interprets these changes as calculation in response to the anarchic international system under which states seek to maximize their status and avoid isolation. Constructivism, alternatively, presumes that state action is driven by identity construction and socialization, leading to willing adoption of international norms as part of a search for legitimacy and acceptance by the international community. The analysis also delves into how such dynamics undermine the conventional understanding of sovereignty, which is a turn toward a networked and norm-based global order. Sovereignty is now increasingly subject to external normative pressures, especially in fields such as trade and environmental governance, where non-compliance could incur severe economic and diplomatic penalties. Finally, the article critically assesses the legitimacy of 'soft law' and voluntary international obligations. While soft law makes norm-making easier and strategic flexibility possible, its non-binding nature raises concerns over accountability and democratic legitimacy of international law-making.

کلیدواژه ها:

international conventions ، non-member states ، financial policy ، legal systems ، transnational influence ، soft law