Trading Communities, the Networked Structure of International Relations and the Kantian Peace

Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2013

39 Pages Posted: 5 Dec 2010 Last revised: 18 Oct 2012

See all articles by Yonatan Lupu

Yonatan Lupu

George Washington University - Department of Political Science

Vincent A. Traag

CWTS, Leiden University

Date Written: October 18, 2012

Abstract

We argue that theories regarding the relationship between trade and conflict could benefit greatly from accounting for the networked structure of international trade. Indirect trade relations reduce the probability of conflict by creating (1) opportunity costs of conflict beyond those reflected by direct trade ties; and (2) negative externalities for the potential combatants' trading partners, giving them an incentive to prevent the conflict. Trade flows create groups of states with relatively dense trade ties, which we call trading communities. Within these groups, the interruptions to trade caused by conflict create relatively large costs. As a result, joint members of trading communities are less likely to go to war, however little they directly trade with each other. We systematically measure and define trading communities across various levels of aggregation using the network analytic tool of modularity maximization. We find significant support for our hypothesis, indicating that interdependence theory can be extended to extra-dyadic relations.

Keywords: Interdependence, extra-dyadic, interstate conflict, network analysis, community detection

Suggested Citation

Lupu, Yonatan and Traag, Vincent A., Trading Communities, the Networked Structure of International Relations and the Kantian Peace (October 18, 2012). Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1719768 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1719768

Yonatan Lupu (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Washington, DC 20052
United States

Vincent A. Traag

CWTS, Leiden University ( email )

Leiden
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.cwts.nl

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
388
Abstract Views
2,235
Rank
139,877
PlumX Metrics