Abstract
International relations scholars have taken an interest in isolating and measuring the causal impact of norms. But, a key challenge has been to conceive of norms in a way that is independent of the effects attributed to them. I assume the neoliberal understanding of complex interdependence reflects international norms. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is used to model this structure of complex interdependence. The structure of complex interdependence is based on multiple types of relations between states, including military, economic, diplomatic, and sociocultural links. This structure measures the impact of norms on states’ policies. I argue that states’ policies generally conform to the structure of the system, or international norms. I look at the specific policy actions of states in the security, economic, sociocultural and environmental spheres. I use exponential random graph models (ERGMs) to isolate the cause of the international structure on state behavior. My findings are that international norms, reflected in the structure of the system, have a distinct and meaningful impact on state behavior. International norms significantly pressure states to conform on policies regardless of issue dimension. Ultimately, this paper presents tools, SNA and ERGMs, which can be used to isolate the cause of international norms.