Intra-Industry Trade: Cooperation and Conflict in the Global Political Economy

Intra-Industry Trade calls for us to rethink what trade most often looks like and how it shapes global institutions, fostering peace among states. Cameron G. Thies and Timothy M. Peterson argue that our understanding of trade has not kept pace with its changing nature in the 21st century; existing models, rooted in Ricardo's theories, regard trade uniformly as taking place between entities and countries that offer different commodities and operate according to the logic of comparative advantage. Though this type of exchange does take place, intra-industry trade-international trade of the same or similar commodities, in which foreign and domestic brands compete-is increasingly prevalent. The authors argue that our current academic and policymaking focus on the total volume of trade, rather than its composition, is misplaced. Trade composition matters, not just because it gives us a fuller understanding of how trade works, but also because intra-industry trade increases the likelihood of positive institutional relations and cooperation between states. To illustrate their point, the authors examine the effects that intra-industry trade has on Preferential Trade Agreement formation, its tendency to lessen World Trade Organization disputes and militarized conflict, and its ability to pave the way for new and fortified alliances

Trade composition and the global political economy -- Conceptualizing and operationalizing intra-industry trade -- Cooperating to compete : intra-industry trade and the formation of preferential trade agreements -- Trade composition and the World Trade Organization : the effect of intra-industry trade on the dispute settlement procedure -- Beyond liberalization and development : intra-industry trade and the onset of militarized disputes -- The political economy of international affinity : how the composition of trade influences preference similarity and alliance.

Trade composition and the global political economy -- Conceptualizing and operationalizing intra-industry trade -- Cooperating to compete : intra-industry trade and the formation of preferential trade agreements -- Trade composition and the World Trade Organization : the effect of intra-industry trade on the dispute settlement procedure -- Beyond liberalization and development : intra-industry trade and the onset of militarized disputes -- The political economy of international affinity : how the composition of trade influences preference similarity and alliance

In Intra-Industry Trade, Cameron G. Thies and Timothy M. Peterson call for us to rethink how we define trade and how it shapes global institutions. Arguing that existing models, rooted in Ricardo's theories, have not kept pace with the changing nature of trade, they argue that a greater proportion of intra-industry trade plays a significant role in pacifying security relations and institutionalizing economic relations in the contemporary global system.