Evan Schofer

The Worldwide Expansion of Higher Education in the Twentieth Century

The authors analyze the rapid worldwide expansion of higher educational enrollments over the twentieth century using pooled panel regressions. Expansion is higher in economically developed countries (in some but not all analyses) as classic theories would have it. Growth is greater where secondary enrollments are high and where state control over education is low, consistent with conflict and competition theories. Institutional theories get strong support: growth patterns are similar in all types of countries, are especially high in countries more linked to world society, and sharply accelerate in virtually all countries after 1960. The authors theorize and operationalize the institutional processes involved, which include scientization, democratization and the expansion of human rights, the rise of development planning, and the structuration of the world polity. With these changes, a new model of society became institutionalized globally-one in which schooled knowledge and personnel were seen as appropriate for a wide variety of social positions, and in which many more young people were seen as appropriate candidates for higher education. An older vision of education as contributing to a more closed society and occupational system—with associated fears of “over-education”—was replaced by an open-system picture of education as useful “human capital” for unlimited progress. The global trends are so strong that developing countries now have higher enrollment rates than European countries did only a few decades ago, and currently about one-fifth of the world cohort is now enrolled in higher education.

The Structuring of a World Environmental Regime, 1870–1990

In recent decades a great expansion has occurred in world environmental organization, both governmental and nongovernmental, along with an explosion of worldwide discourse and communication about environmental problems. All of this constitutes a world environmental regime. Using the term regime a little more broadly than usual, we define world environmental regime as a partially integrated collection of world-level organizations, understandings, and assumptions that specify the relationship of human society to nature. The rise of an environmental regime has accompanied greatly expanded organization and activity in many sectors of global society. Explaining the growth of the environmental regime, however, poses some problems. The interests and powers of the dominant actors in world society—nation-states and economic interests—came late to the environmental scene. Thus these forces cannot easily be used to explain the rise of world mobilization around the environment, in contrast with other sectors of global society (for example, the international economic and national security regimes).

The Structural Contexts of Civic Engagement: Voluntary Association Membership in Comparative Perspective

Editorial changes have been underlined AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW or otherwise noted on this proof. The Structural Contexts of Civic Engagement: Voluntary Association Membership in Comparative Perspective Evan Schofer University of Minnesota Marion Fourcade-Gourinchas Princeton University and New York University Voluntary association membership varies dramatically among nations, by both the number and the type of associations that people join. Two distinctions account for much of this variation: (1) the distinction between statist versus nonstatist (some- times called “liberal”) societies, and (2) the distinction between corporate versus noncorporate societies. These two dimensions summarize historically evolved differ- ences in state structure, political institutions, and culture of nations that channel, legitimate (or deligitimate), and encourage (or discourage) various types of associa- tional activity. Membership in associations in 32 countries is examined using data from the 1991 World Values Survey; hierarchical models estimate the effects of indi- vidual-level and country-level factors on individual association membership. Results show that statism constrains individual associational activity of all types, particu- larly in “new” social movement associations. Corporateness, however, positively affects membership, particularly for “old” social movements. Finally, temporal trends indicate some convergence toward Anglo-American patterns of association. I Refs say n contemporary nation-states, vol- untary associations are important bodies that mediate between the individual and the broader societal environment. Following de Tocqueville’s ([1862] 1981) early state- ments on the different political organization of America and Europe, political scientists and sociologists have noted that people of different countries and regions vary in their involvement in associational activity (Al- mond and Verba 1963; Putnam 1993; Wuthnow 1991). The United States, for in- stance, is traditionally described as a “nation of joiners,” while some European countries (e.g., France, Italy) and Japan seem to have a much less developed civic orientation. In sum, “country of residence” appears to be “an important predictor of voluntary asso- ciation joining” (Curtis, Grab, and Baer Many scholars attribute this variation in civic involvement to the different value sys- tems internalized by members of each soci- ety (Almond and Verba 1963; Inglehart 1997). Final explanations often recognize that these value systems may be rooted in larger institutional and ideological struc- tures. These explanations usually emphasize how such structures are mediated at the in- dividual level to produce particular attitudes and behaviors (e.g. “post-materialist val- Direct all correspondence to Marion Fourcade- Gourinchas, Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, 08540 (fourcade@ princeton.edu) or Evan Schofer (schofer@soc. umn.edu). The authors contributed equally to this research. A version of this paper was presented “wish to” at the 1999 annual meeting of the American So- not added. ciological Association. The authors thank Ron Wordy. Jepperson for extremely valuable insights and Just go advice, as well as Frank Dobbin, Marshall Ganz, ahead and Joe Galaskiewicz, Kieran Healy, Ann Hironaka, do the Michele Lamont, John W. Meyer, Kimberly Mor- thanking! gan, Virag Molnar, Francisco O. Ramirez, Abigail Saguy, Theda Skocpol, Dietlind Stolle, and the members of the Stanford Comparative Workshop. We also thank the ASR Editors and Avoid anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments using the and suggestions. word American Sociological Review, 2001, Vol. 66 (December:806–xx) “very.”

Toward a Structural Understanding of Coup Risk

Although coup risk plays an important role in theories of war, revolution, and democratization, scholars have not developed a rigorous conceptualization and valid measure of the concept. We develop a structural understanding of coup risk as distinct from proximate causes of coups as well as coup-proofing strategies that regimes implement to avert coups. Theoretical insights into factors that predispose regimes toward coup vulnerability provide the groundwork for an improved measure based on strength of civil society, legitimacy, and past coups. Cross-national statistical analyses are used to significantly improve on previous coupincidence models and highlight deficiencies of the common approach to measuring coup risk. The structural conceptualization of coup risk enhances understanding of broader civil-military dynamics, in particular the well-known distinction between motives and opportunities for launching coups. This distinction is shown to be insensitive to an important observational equivalence: that coups may be rare in both high-and low-risk cases.

National and Global Origins of Environmental Association

We examine the origins of voluntary associations devoted to environmental protection, focusing on the divergent trajectories of industrialized versus developing countries. We consider a wide range of domestic economic, political, and institutional dynamics that give rise to environmental associations. Developing and extending neo-institutional world polity arguments, we characterize domestic association in the developing world as the product of global cultural models, legitimation, and resources. Using event history and dynamic panel models, we analyze the formation of domestic environmental associations for a large sample of countries in the contemporary period. Among highly industrialized countries, domestic factors—resources and political institutions that afford favorable opportunities—largely explain the prevalence of environmental associations. In contrast, global forces are a powerful catalyst for environmental organizing in the developing world. The environmental movement, which had domestic origins in the West, became institutionalized in the world polity, generating new associations on a global scale. We also find positive effects of democratic institutions and philanthropic foundations. Environmental degradation and societal affluence are not primary drivers of environmental association. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of globally-sponsored voluntary associations, which appear to be common in the developing world.

Student Achievement and National Economic Growth.

Educational policy around the world has increasingly focused on improving aggregate student achievement as a means to increase economic growth. In the last two decades, attention has focused especially on the importance of achievement in science and mathematics. Yet, the policy commitments involved have not been based on research evidence. The expansion of cross‐national achievement testing in recent decades makes possible longitudinal analyses of the effects of achievement on growth, and we carry out such analyses here. Regression analyses appear to show some effects of science and mathematics achievement on growth, but these effects are due mainly to the inclusion of the four “Asian Tigers” and are not consistent over time. These empirical findings call into question educational policy discourse that emphasizes strong causal links between achievement and growth.

The effects of science on national economic development, 1970 to 1990

Expanded scientific activity is thought to benefit national economic development through improved labor force capacities and the creation of new knowledge and technology. However, scientific research activity expands as a global process and reflects the penetration of societies by a general rationalistic world culture. The authors point out that scientific expansion and the accompanying cultural penetration legitimate a broad progressive agenda of social amelioration (e.g., by identifying environmental and health problems, and social welfare and human rights issues) that can result in regulation and direct constraints on productive economic activity in the short term. Thus, science can be seen as encouraging a trade-off between short-term economic growth and broader (and longer-term) social development. The effects of dimensions of scientific infrastructure on national economic growth are examined over the 1970-1990 period. Cross-national analyses show that the size of a nations scientific labor force and training system has a positive effect on economic development, supporting conventional theories. However indicators of national involvement in scientific research activity show negative effects on economic growth. Corollary analyses show that this negative effect is partially explained by the expansion of scientific activity into more socially relevant domains (e.g., medicine, environmental sciences, etc.), thus supporting the main arguments

The Structural Sources of Association1

Where do associations come from? The authors argue that the expansion and openness of state institutions encourage the formation of associations. Moreover, the institutional structures of world society provide important resources and legitimation for association. Longitudinal cross-national data on voluntary associations are analyzed using panel models with fixed-effects and instrumental variables models to address possible endogeneity. Institutional features of the state and the structures of world society are linked to higher levels of association, as are wealth and education. These factors differentially affect specific types of association, helping make sense of the distinctive configurations of civil society observed around the globe.

The global institutionalization of geological science, 1800 to 1990

Historical and quantitative examination of one scientific field - geology - provides the basis for exploring how Western science became institutionalized worldwide during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Prior research emphasizes the importance of industrialization, Protestantism, and the legacy of colonial rule. An alternative perspective is offered here-one rooted in sociological neoinstitutionalism. Mechanisms are examined that linked non-Western colonies and nations to world society, serving as conduits for the diffusion of Western science. The relevant mechanisms have changed over time as world society has become more organized and structured. Direct ties among nations were important early on, but links to international organizations became important in the postwar era. Historical examples and a quantitative analysis of the spread of professional geological associations from 1800 to 1990 provide evidence in support of several theories. Results suggest that the institutionalization of geology was very much an international process. Societies strongly linked to world society institutionalized geological science rapidly, supporting neoinstitutional predictions. Finally, Protestantism had a positive effect on the institutionalization of geological science, while the effects of colonization and industrialism were mixed and fluctuated over time

Coup Risk, Counterbalancing, and International Conflict

Contrary to the literature on rallies-around-the-flag, this article argues that, in some circumstances, leaders may use international conflict to promote domestic divisiveness. More specifically, the threat of a military coup generally prompts leaders to divide their militaries (a practice known as counterbalancing), and even to engage in international conflict to ensure that various branches of their own armed forces remain distrustful of one another. Two empirical tests of these claims are offered: a large-N statistical analysis that examines whether coup risk leads to counterbalancing, and whether counterbalanced nations engage in more low-level military conflict (controlling for other causes of conflict); and a case study of Georgia shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Both empirical studies support the arguments advanced by the authors. Aaron Belkin is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Evan Schofer is assistant professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota.