Economic Interdependence, Trade Expectations, and the Outbreak of War

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Dale Copeland, Associate Professor of Politics, University of Virginia

Dale Copeland's field of study is international relations theory, security studies and international political economy. He is the author of The Origins of Major War (Cornell University Press, 2001) and Economic Interdependence and International Conflict.

Professor Copeland challenges both liberal and realist perspectives on the link between economic interdependence and war. He shows that a country's expectations of future trade will determine when economic dependence will lead to war or peace. This argument is tested against three cases: the Peloponnesian War, the start of the Crusades in 1096, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.