This article starts by explaining ratification rates by time span and region, as well as rates of reservation to particular provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Then the authors argue that nation-states are not autonomous entities but rather constructed from and influenced by world models of progress and justice set forth as universalistic scripts for authentic nation-statehood. The authors hypothesize that mechanisms through which nation-states are influenced by the broader world include world meetings and conferences, policy emulation, their embeddedness in the broader world, their level of modernization, and nation-state dependency on more powerful actors. All of these factors are argued to favour ratification of CEDAW. Using event history analysis the authors found that the first three of the hypothesized mechanisms had some support, while the last two did not. [CEDAW Convention -International]