The Non-Imperial First Amendment.

Ideas and doctrines about freedom of speech and freedom of the press have been growing throughout the world, but the influence of the American First Amendment is considerably less than might have been expected. As an emerging international consensus develops -- at least among industrialized democracies -- about freedom of expression, the United States is increasingly an outlier, generally providing more protection than is otherwise available. The goal of this paper is to try to explain this phenomenon, looking partly to the characteristics and behavior of the various countries and international organizations that seek to propagate their ideas, and looking partly at the characteristics of "borrowing" countries that lead some attempted transplants to be successful and others to be rejected or rebuffed. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]