Trade and conflict: trends in economic nationalism, unilateralism and protectionism

ABSTRACT

Protectionists have been accused of unraveling the multilateralist world order. The United States pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and a series of tariffs imposed by both the US and China threaten global economic integration. Fierce protectionist rhetoric risks gridlocking a fragile trade system that faces rising discontent, especially in light of the recent globalization backlash. American geopolitical hostilities are also influencing trade policies, notably punitive tariff and trade sanctions. Meanwhile, these fears are not limited to trade. The ongoing challenge to American hegemony and rising globalization backlash are dangerous signals of economic unpredictability that could perilously escalate towards outright conflict. This special issue tackles these trends of rising economic nationalism, unilateralism and protectionism to shed light on these vital foreign policy issues and what they mean for middle powers such as Canada.

RÉSUMÉ

Les protectionnistes ont été accusés de démanteler l'ordre mondial multilatéraliste. Le retrait des États-Unis de l'accord de partenariat transpacifique, la renégociation de l'accord de libre-échange nord-américain et une série de droits de douane imposés par les États-Unis et la Chine menacent l'intégration économique mondiale. Une rhétorique protectionniste féroce risque de bloquer un système commercial fragile qui est confronté à un mécontentement croissant, en particulier à la lumière du récent contrecoup de la mondialisation. Les hostilités géopolitiques américaines influencent également les politiques commerciales, notamment les tarifs douaniers punitifs et les sanctions commerciales. En attendant, ces craintes ne se limitent pas au commerce. Le défi permanent à l'hégémonie américaine et le contrecoup croissant de la mondialisation sont des signes inquiétants d'une imprévisibilité économique qui pourrait dangereusement dégénérer en conflit pur et simple. Ce numéro spécial aborde ces tendances à la montée du nationalisme économique, de l'unilatéralisme et du protectionnisme pour faire la lumière sur ces questions vitales de politique étrangère et sur ce qu'elles signifient pour les puissances moyennes telles que le Canada.

KEYWORDS:

• Trade
• conflict
• economic nationalism
• unilateralism
• protectionism

Acknowledgements

The guest editors would like to thank David Carment, Editor of the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, for his assistance and guidance preparing this special issue. We would also like to thank Karla Cisneros Rosado for her contributions during the submission process and her comments and suggestions when drafting the introduction. Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers for their efforts and the excellent feedback they provided to all the submitting authors, including those that did not make it into this special issue.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Samuel MacIsaac is a PhD candidate at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University. His most recent work has focused on Canadian immigration trends, remittance channel decision making, forced migration in conflict zones, and the effects of trade on skill acquisition.

Buck Duclos is a PhD student at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University. His research focuses on the link between migration and outbound foreign direct investment flows.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.