Interdependence and Conflict

The questions of whether and how interdependence affects international conflict have received increased attention since the end of the Cold War. Yet, adherents to various schools of political and economic research have frequendy talked past one another. After reviewing theoretical arguments linking interdependence and conflict, drawn from both liberalism and realism, this essay analyzes the findings of twenty empirical studies (formal models, case studies, and quantitative research). Although the majority of these studies tend to support the hypothesis that interdependence, measured in terms of trade, inhibits violent conflict, they leave many important questions unanswered or with ambiguous answers. The essay concludes that further research is needed, not only to sort out how the cosdy and beneficial aspects of interdependence combine to affect interstate conflict, but also to identify the relationships among the various dimensions of interdependence and conflict themselves.