Britain's Trade Liberalization in the 1840s: A Defensive Neoclassical Realist Explanation

IF 1.7 2区社会学 Q2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Foreign Policy Analysis Pub Date : 2022-09-09 DOI:10.1093/fpa/orac019

M. Brawley

引用次数: 0

Abstract

In the 1840s, Britain engaged in a series of trade liberalizations, with important consequences for itself and the international system. Many have tried to explain the central piece, Repeal of the Corn Laws, using liberal arguments from international political economy. Few find these arguments persuasive. Applying defensive neoclassical realism, I demonstrate how fluctuations in external threats to Britain—in particular posed by France—drove reassessments of trade policy. British leaders judged both the Corn Laws and the Navigation Acts in terms of their contributions to security. Reassessments were also shaped by new information, such as the potato blight in Ireland. While defensive neoclassical realism highlights when a state may seek change to attain greater security, liberalism indicates how strongly constituents may defend existing policies. I use both to explain why tariffs remained popular, but Cabinets overrode protectionism's domestic supporters in this decade.

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19世纪40年代英国的贸易自由化:一个防御性的新古典现实主义解释

19世纪40年代，英国进行了一系列贸易自由化，对自身和国际体系产生了重要影响。许多人试图用国际政治经济学中的自由主义论点来解释核心部分《废除玉米法》。很少有人认为这些论点有说服力。运用防御性的新古典主义现实主义，我展示了英国面临的外部威胁——尤其是法国构成的威胁——的波动如何推动对贸易政策的重新评估。英国领导人评判《谷物法》和《航海法》对安全的贡献。重新评估也受到新信息的影响，比如爱尔兰的马铃薯枯萎病。虽然防御性的新古典主义现实主义强调了一个国家何时可以寻求变革以获得更大的安全，但自由主义表明了选民可以多么强烈地捍卫现有政策。我用两者来解释为什么关税仍然很受欢迎，但内阁在这十年里压倒了保护主义的国内支持者。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Foreign Policy Analysis INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

9.10%

发文量

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