Institutions, Trade and Conflict

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Institutions, Trade and Conflict

"Institutions, Trade and C O N F L I C T: Exploring African Regional
Trade Agreements as Security Institutions"
by Kathy L. Powers, Assistant Professor; Arizona State University
Sponsored by CIDCM, the Department of Government and Politics and the DC Area Workshop on Contentious Politics.

Location: CIDCM Conference Room, Tydings 0138
Time: 10:30-11:45

Abstract:
What is the role of trade institutions in international conflict? Given
that militarized conflict occurs among member states, trade institutions
may act as security institutions to manage such conflict. Regional trade
agreements (RTAs), which specify rules that encourage trade
liberalization among member states, are an example of such institutions.
Conventional wisdom suggests that trade flows created by RTA trade rules or shared membership in any RTA diminishes such conflict. But, we must
remember that membership often consists of former and present enemies as well as longtime rivals that do experience militarized conflict.Scholarly inquiry must look beyond trade flows and shared membership in
institutions in order to specify the conditions under which trade institutions diminish, exacerbate or have no impact on militarized conflict and consider the role of structure in these institutions and its relationship to militarized conflict.

The objectives of this paper are twofold: (a) I illustrate how regional trade agreements (RTAs), which are trade institutions, can also be Haftendorn, Keohane and Wallender's (1999) "security institutions." They have institutional structures constructed specifically to manage militarized conflic among joint members as well as aggression by
non-member states. These trade institutions often sign military alliance agreements like mutual defense pacts, non-aggression pacts, ententes and anti-terrorism agreements within the RTA structure. (b) I test the conditions under which variations in RTA institutional structure influence the likelihood of militarized conflict among member countries.
To accomplish these objectives, I focus on African RTA structure and militarized interstate conflict from 1950-1992. The institutional aspect of RTA structure that I examine in relation to militarized conflict is "level of security integration of a RTA."