Peace through globalization and capitalism? Prospects of two liberal propositions

Schneider, G. (2014) Peace through globalization and capitalism? Prospects of two liberal propositions. Journal of Peace Research, 51 (2). pp. 173-183.

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Abstract

The security externalities of globalization and capitalism continue to play an influential role in peace research. Typical contributions to these interrelated areas of scientific inquiry address the hope that the external openness (commercial liberalism) and the internal freedom of an economy (capitalist peace) pacify interstate as well as intrastate relations. I claim, despite the empirical support both theses have received, that they face considerable analytical hurdles. Commercial liberalism has, on a theoretical level, not yet moved much beyond the opportunity cost arguments that enlightenment philosophers first advanced more than 200 years ago. The capitalist peace research program similarly does not offer clear micro-level mechanisms explaining why the interactions between economic agents and political decisionmakers should be more peaceful in capitalist than in state-dominated economies. Drawing on the political economy literature, I argue that economic liberalism should distinguish between level- and change-effects of both globalization and capitalism and that thinking in analogies between domestic and interstate peace has prevented the field from making analytical headway. Both literatures will only profit from the advent of ‘big data’ in the case that the field addresses the theoretical challenges upfront

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Capitalist peace, commercial liberalism, economic interdependence, globalization
Author Affiliation: University of Konstanz
Subjects: Social Sciences
Social Sciences > Agricultural Economics
Divisions: General
Depositing User: Mr T L Gautham
Date Deposited: 05 Nov 2014 09:29
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2014 09:29
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022343313497739
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/13525

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