Yielding Sovereignty to AIIs
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4. Illustrating the Argument
How do these theoretical expectations work out in practice? Is there any evidence suggesting
that structural factors might influence state adoption of AIIs? Our answer is a cautious and
qualified yes. In Table 2, we arrange our 17 cases along the two structural dimensions and
identify where the institution falls on the scale of sovereignty loss. The interesting pattern is that
High sovereignty loss (the bold cases in the upper left corner) only occurs where both structural
factors are present. In our set of cases, unless there is a significant system shock and a prior
institution on which to build, High sovereignty loss does not take place. Low levels of
sovereignty loss (italicized cases) only occur where at least one of the structural conditions is
met. The lower right cell includes no cases of even Low sovereignty loss. Taken together, these
two patterns lead us to tentatively conclude that structural factors, whether systemic shocks or
past institutions, do provide useful additional insights into the decision to delegate to
authoritative institutions.
Convention